A woman whose family pet was shot and killed by a Muskogee police officer is suing the city and four police officers in federal court.

Yvonne Todd said she was reaching down to calm Shelby, her 6-year-old Saint Bernard, when one of the officers shot her dog in the head.

“The thing I remember most is seeing that black circle in my face,” Todd said about the barrel of the officer’s gun as it swung toward her dog. “It happened so fast there was nothing I could do, and they (the police officers) acted like doing away with my dog was just a big joke.”

Police said they were responding to reports of gunshots when they arrived in March at Todd’s apartment. Witnesses said they heard no gunshots until after police arrived and Shelby was shot.

Muskogee Police Chief Rex Eskridge defended his officers, saying an internal investigation found the officers “did what they did in order to protect themselves.”

According to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Oklahoma, some of the police officers at the scene “used excessive force” in shooting the dog and then trying to subdue Todd after the shooting.

“They tightened the handcuffs too far, they hit her, kicked her, they threw her down, and they stomped on her back,” the complaint alleges. “Plaintiff suffered numerous injuries because of the defendants’ actions, some of which require ongoing medical care ...”



Other officers, the complaint alleges, failed to intervene on Todd’s behalf or report the alleged use of excessive force and frustrated her attempts to file a grievance with city officials.

Todd never was charged with any crime after police detained her during the investigation of what Eskridge described at the time as a rather serious domestic dispute.

A woman who witnessed the shooting told the Phoenix last year that police grabbed Todd by the arm after she opened the apartment door and ordered her to control her dog. Elizabeth Garcia said a police officer shot Shelby in the head before Todd had time to react to the officers’ commands.

Police have said the officer shot the dog in self-defense. But Todd said Shelby was a popular dog among children, who looked forward to seeing the Saint Bernard each year in area parades. Todd said the dog was friendly and never had shown signs of aggression.

“She was barking that day because they (police) grabbed me and was holding me against my will,” Todd said. “Sure she is going to bark then.”

Garcia said her granddaughter, who was 2 years old when the shooting occurred, played with Shelby all the time.

“That dog never has been aggressive,” Garcia said. “There was no reason for this.”

Todd’s lawyer, Corrine O’Day, said her client’s experience with the police the day her dog was shot is indicative of a department that lacks oversight and discipline.

In the complaint, O’Day states the Muskogee Police Department’s failure to train and discipline its officers has created “an atmosphere of illegal and unconstitutional behavior with respect to the use of force in deliberate indifference and reckless disregard to the welfare of the public at large.”

Eskridge denied the allegation.

“We emphatically take exception to that,” Eskridge said in response. “These officers acted well within the guidelines of procedure and policy. They dealt with the situation that was presented to them — we plan to vigorously defend this lawsuit.”

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for Todd’s constitutional claims against the city and punitive damages against the four police officers for their actions. The four officers named in the lawsuit are Michael Crawford, Michael Lippmann, Rob Frazier and John Morrison.

Todd, during an interview Thursday, said she hopes nobody else has to go through an ordeal like the one she has been unable to overcome.

“I hope somebody makes them stop what they are doing,” Todd said. “They could have done anything short of destroying her (Shelby) and me.”

Reach D.E. Smoot at 918-684-2903 or Click Here to Send Email