Owner outraged at officer's killing of dog

Police say officer Jack Soule had no choice but to fire his gun when the unleashed pit bull came at him aggressively.

By ED QUIOCO

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 2, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Strolling through the woods as their three dogs bounded ahead, Sadie Robertson and her two roommates suddenly heard a man's voice followed by two gunshots.

Startled, they ran down the trail and found St. Petersburg police officer and union president Jack Soule near Robertson's 1-year-old pit bull, Sassy. About 10 feet away, the dog was lying on the narrow, muddy trail, with blood coming from its neck and side.

"Sassy was spasming, like a fish out of water, gasping for air," said Robertson, 25. "I knew she was dying. I was like, "You shot my dog,' then I went crazy, screaming and crying."

St. Petersburg police spokesman Rick Stelljes said Soule was on the trail investigating a report of littering on 58th Avenue NE about noon Saturday. While on the trail, three dogs approached Soule in "an aggressive way," Stelljes said.

"Feeling no alternative, he drew his firearm and fired at two of the dogs," he said.

Robertson, her boyfriend, Craig Wills, 20, and her best friend Jaime Bodell, 26, all dispute the description of the dogs as aggressive.

Robertson said their dogs -- Sassy, her sister Amiya, and Gator, a 1-year-old German shepherd and boxer mix -- probably ran into Soule as they playfully ran up and down the trail.

After the shooting, Wills carried Sassy from the trail to a grassy area next to 58th Avenue NE, a block from where the three of them live. Sassy died in front of Robertson before help could arrive.

"She was shot so bad that she couldn't even look at me," said Robertson, a veterinary assistant at Skyway Animal Hospital in St. Petersburg. "The first thing we were saying is that he is a trigger-happy cop. He could have done something else than kill my dog and not even say, "Sorry.' "

Soule, who recently lost his bid to be Pinellas County sheriff, declined Sunday to talk about the shooting. "I don't care about the story you are working on," Soule told a St. Petersburg Times reporter. "I do not want to be bothered at home, understand?"

Bodell said they were walking toward Soule, not far behind the dogs, when they heard the gunshots. "What scared me the most was that he had no hesitation to pull his gun out and shoot," Bodell said. "It was just so unnecessary, and it was just hurtful that they were like, "Oh, she's a pit bull,' as if she deserved it because she's a pit bull or not on a leash."

Robertson, who moved three months ago to Florida from Oregon, has known Sassy since she was born, and the dog slept with her every night. Sassy gave birth to three puppies three weeks ago.

When other police officers arrived to investigate the shooting, things got worse for Robertson. Hysterical and crying, she said she became even more agitated when police officers tried to place the blame on her because dogs are supposed to be leashed.

She said as a police officer wagged his finger in front of her face, she slapped his hand away. Soon after, she was tackled, handcuffed and forced to sit in a police cruiser until she calmed down.

Robertson faces misdemeanor charges of simple battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. She has a court appearance Oct. 20.

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