Dixmoor Residents Claim Same Police Officer Shot Their Dogs Dead, No Record Of It Was Kept

DIXMOOR, Ill. (CBS) -- Official records show that at least four dogs were shot and killed by one police officer in south suburban Dixmoor, who claimed they were aggressive.

But as CBS 2 continues to investigate the incidents, Tara Molina has heard from residents who claim the real number is much higher than four.

Residents who reached out to CBS 2 after seeing our first story claimed a Dixmoor police officer killed their dogs too.

Their names weren't mentioned in CBS 2's formal request for all incidents involving dogs shot here. They say it's because police aren't reporting it.

Just a short distance from Dixmoor's Police Department and Village Hall, Laura Wilson said an officer shot and killed her 6-month-old pit bull-mix, Ghost.

"My dog end up running home," Wilson said. "And he followed him home, and he killed him on the porch."

She said there was trail of blood from the front door to the back, where she found Ghost's body in the bushes. She said the officer was parked outside.

"He told me if he sees a pit bull running loose – any dog running loose – his job is to kill them," Wilson said.

You could throw a rock and hit the police station. But Wilson said you won't find an incident report on the shooting there.

"They won't let you report it," she said.

A few blocks away, Lenora Hunt said the same thing.

"They said that we couldn't get a report," Hunt said. "They didn't have to give us a report, and we wasn't going to get any report."

Hunt said she was down the street and the officer "fired the shots from the car."

She said she watched her 9-year-old dog, Rocky, get shot and killed last month.

"You said the dog charged at you. You never got out your car," Hunt said. "So how did he charge at you?"

Both claim the same officer pulled the trigger.

"Marquise Day," Hunt said. "He's the one that shot my dog."

We know at least three incidents were reported that involved Officer Day, because we requested all of them.

In a report dated May 23, the officer said he was patrolling at 146th Street and Hoyne Avenue when he found two pit bulls running loose with no dog tags and trying to get into a house. In the report, the officer claimed got out and tried to make contact with the homeowners when the dogs became aggressive – barking and growling they came closer – and the officer claimed he had to open fire.

In a report dated June 17, the officer claimed a gray pit bull was loose and chasing some pedestrians and their own dog at 145th Street and Hoyne Avenue. The pedestrians were in fear of their lives as the pit bull jumped on the pedestrians and tried to attack their dog.

The officer claimed he got out of his squad car and tried to distract the dog, but the dog charged at him and he opened fire.

In a report dated July 26, the officer reported being sent to 36 Circle Dr. for a report of a loose dog. The woman who called was scared to come outside after being mauled by a pit bull on a separate occasion, the report said. The report claimed that as the officer walked toward a driveway to talk to the woman who called, a female pit bull charged at him and he had to fire his weapon.

Afterward, a man came up from another house on Circle Drive and said he owned the dog. He began cursing at the officer – saying the dog was in heat and had been let out to take a shower, the report said.

The owner of the last dog, Brandi Quinn, told Molina on Monday that her son came outside and saw the dog, Cocoa, in the street after hearing shots. Quinn claims officer Day was defensive when she followed-up with him at the police department, and she never got a policy on loose dogs - just a citation for having one.

CBS 2 also requested Dixmoor's policy on loose dogs more than a month ago. As of Tuesday night, we still did not have it.

Molina called Officer Day for a comment Monday, and he told her to call the chief, which she did. She also asked for the chief at the department twice.

As of Tuesday night, Molina had not heard back. There was also no response to residents' concerns.