Wake Co. deputy who shot, killed dog after entering home to stay with sheriff's office

WRAL News has learned a deputy who shot and killed a dog after he entered the house in April will remain with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office after nearly two months of administrative leave.

The deputy entered a home on Lord Berkley Road in April to serve a civil process warrant, when the sheriff’s office said the dog, named Zelda, a Belgian Malinois, bit the deputy after he entered.

The deputy then shot and killed the dog and walked outside.

“She was killed inside her home doing what she was supposed to do; she gave us security,” said Paige Briggs, the dog’s owner. “It’s disappointing that [the deputy] gets to go back without any consequences.”

In security camera footage of the home, which Briggs provided to WRAL News, the deputy can be heard explaining to arriving deputies and Raleigh police officers what happened inside.

“There were some doors open,” he said. “Initially, I am thinking things in weird areas, unkept, made me think [of] a break-in.”

The deputy then explained why he shot the dog.

“He came right at me, and I put my leg out like this. That's when he bit me and I had to unfortunately shoot him," the deputy said.

The video also shows the deputy telling another officer that he didn’t hear the dog bark while he was inside.

Briggs told WRAL News in April that it's not unusual for the house to be a mess, lights on and doors unlocked with four kids and a lot of rushing around, but she says the deputy had no right to enter the home.

On Thursday, Briggs expressed her disappointment in the department’s decision to reinstate the deputy.

“While it’s personal for us because of our pet, it should bother everybody in Wake County that he is going to be on the job,” she said.

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said it reviewed the circumstances behind the shooting and decided the deputy would remain employed with the sheriff’s office.

“We recognize the attention this matter has received and acknowledge the concerns that have been raised,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to WRAL News, adding that they notified Briggs and her family of the decision.