(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Lake County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a dog at a gas station in Beach Park last month, and the newly released body cam video has drawn dozens of comments on social media.
Sheriff's deputies were called to the gas station Jan. 17 by an employee who said there were two dogs and that one tried to attack him.
Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli says on the body cam video you can see the deputy trying to give the dogs treats to subdue the larger, aggressive one. Officials say the officer was trying to lure the dogs into the back of his vehicle so that they didn’t attack anyone.
But the idea did not go as planned.
"The dog was in an attack pose - attack stance. As he was lunging at the deputy, the deputy, unfortunately, had to make the very difficult decision to shoot the dog,” Covelli tells WBBM Newsradio.
A month earlier, the same dog had tried to bite an employee at the same gas station.
“The dog attempted to bite both his leg and face, but the employee got away with only being bit on his beard,” the sheriff’s department said in a social-media posting.
Covelli says animal control was called, but the sheriff's office will almost always have a quicker response time -- especially to a call about an aggressive animal.
Most comments on social media have supported the deputy, who the sheriff's department determined acted appropriately.
"It's an unfortunate situation, anytime that a deputy has to use force,” Covelli said.
The sheriff’s office has posted the body cam video here (be forewarned: the footage is graphic).
Covelli says the smaller of the two dogs was returned to the owner.
Sheriff's officials say the incident underscores the importance of pet owners keeping their animals secure.
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