PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities are investigating how a Philadelphia police officer accidentally shot a man who was coming to him for help.
On Monday, around 4:30 p.m., police say a 62-year-old man was walking his dog near 20th and Chew streets when two freely roaming pit bulls approached his dog. They say the bigger of the two pit bulls began attacking his dog and the man attempted to pull the dogs apart, but the pitbull kept biting his dog.
That’s when he shot twice at the larger dog, killing it. The other dog ran off into a nearby alley.
The man brought his dog, who had injuries on his paws and eye, inside his house on 21st Street.
He said he then spotted an officer who was patrolling the area near 21st and Conlyn streets, just north of La Salle University, and approached him, telling the cop he had just fatally shot a freely roaming, large pit bull who had attacked his smaller dog.
The man told the 14th District Police Officer, James Edmiston, that he had a permit to carry and his gun was on his waistband.
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Edmiston, 50, said, in response, that the firearm first needed to be secured, then they could go tend to the dog.
The man obliged.
As the dog owner had his hands above his head, and the officer was trying to secure the firearm, police say the gun went off, and the man was shot in the leg.
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Edmiston then drove the man to the hospital, where he is expected to physically recover.
Police say Edmiston is now on desk duty, pending the outcome of an investigation by the District Attorney’s office and the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation group.