LAPD releases – The LAPD released bodycam footage showing an officer shooting four times at a 2-year-old Saint Bernard doodle, Jameson, during a Saturday response to a report of a woman screaming. The release followed a 72-hour internal review and has intensified political pr
Los Angeles police released bodycam footage Friday that shows an officer killing a woman’s pet dog—footage that quickly went viral and set off a wave of anger across the city.
The dog, Jameson, a 2-year-old Saint Bernard doodle, was fatally shot on Saturday after officers responded to a report of a woman screaming in an apartment in the 7500 block of Jordan Avenue at 8:55 p.m.
In the video, which lasts a few minutes and comes from two body cameras, an officer approaches the woman’s apartment door and declares “LAPD.” A second officer stands slightly down the apartment complex passageway as Marie Marseille opens the door and the officers see the large barking dog.
The officers ask Marseille to put the dog away. Bodycam video shows the second officer unholstering his gun and backing away from the barking dog. Marseille closes the door, and the officers continue speaking. In the footage. the first officer exclaims. “Jeez. that’s a big ass dog. ” while the second officer says. “I ain’t getting bit by that. bro.”.
Marseille returns to the door and the first officer asks again if she put away the dog. She replies, “he’s not aggressive.” An officer then says, “he’s ah, huge, you know what I mean?”
At that point, Jameson comes past Marseille out the door, moving away from the first officer, who tells her to “put him in.” Jameson continues barking down the passage toward the second officer. The second officer draws his handgun in his right hand and fires four times.
The large pup drops to the ground as Marseille screams, “No!”
The shooting sparked outrage and prompted LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to promise a full investigation. The LAPD and Mayor Karen Bass have faced mounting political pressure to release the responding officers’ body camera footage. The department released the footage after LAPD brass and top city leaders reviewed it. and after McDonnell conducted what is known as a 72-hour review of the officers’ action — the first step in a longer internal investigation process into shots fired by an LAPD officer.
Bass offered a public tribute to the dog after the incident.
“Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever.”
In the footage’s aftermath, neighbors can be heard angrily admonishing officers for killing the dog. The incident has also raised fresh questions about use-of-force protocols involving dogs, and whether reforms are needed.
McDonnell acknowledged Marseille’s loss in a statement after the shooting.
“The loss of a pet is deeply personal. For many. a dog is not simply an animal; it is a companion. a source of comfort. and a member of the family. ” the statement said. “LAPD officers face unknown dangers on a daily basis. but I expect them to exercise sound judgment. restraint. and respect for life whenever possible. That expectation is reflected in our training, policies, and specific guidance on encounters with dogs. All those factors will be carefully reviewed as part of this investigation.”.
The neighbor who made the call expressed remorse in an interview after the incident. In a conversation with NBC4, the neighbor said she called after hearing screaming from Marseille’s apartment. She said she called out to Marseille but did not get a response. and so she contacted police because she was concerned for her neighbor’s welfare.
“I feel responsible for what happened,” the neighbor said. She added that the knocks on Marseille’s door sounded “hostile.”
“That’s not how I thought a wellness check would go,” she said.
Marseille told NBC4 her family was celebrating the Knicks’ NBA Championship win when officers arrived.
“Next thing I know, he was on the ground,” Marseille said. “I see the officer shoot him twice. I did see that. I was right there when it happened.”
In a phone interview with The Times, Marseille’s sister, Vanessa Marseille, said the family was shocked and devastated.
“We just don’t know why it happened,” she said. “What’s more scary is that those shots could have hit her or anyone. It was reckless.”
“It’s just tragic,” she said.
Marseille said her sister was born and raised in New York and left for California in 2014 for work. Two years ago, Marseille said, her sister purchased Jameson, the oldest of seven puppies.
She described the dog as a constant presence in her conversations with her nephew.
“Every time on FaceTime with Jeremiah, he’s always walking the dog,” she said. “When he takes my sister to work, Jameson is in the car, wagging his tongue.”
A GoFundMe has raised more than $200,000 for Marseille and her son. The family has hired lawyers, who released a statement Friday condemning the police response shown in the video as “completely unnecessary and profoundly dangerous.”
The shooting has also reignited attention on training and policy guidance for encounters with animals. California does not mandate canine encounter training for police officers, unlike Texas and Colorado. The LAPD provides a detailed guideline in a bulletin to police officers. An attempt to mandate such training failed to get approved by state lawmakers in 2017.
LAPD Use of Force Directive No. 11 outlines the protocol for dog encounters. According to the directive written in 2023, officers should consider voice commands and several alternatives before using lethal force. The directive advises officers arriving at a scene to assess whether a dog may be present and reminds them their main concern upon arrival is “safety.”.
The directive advises officers to remember that all dogs can bite and provides a list of evolving options to deal with a “hostile” dog. Officers can use voice commands. and if those do not work. options include pepper spray. a baton. a TASER or fire extinguisher—though some are more difficult to use on a fast-moving animal. The directive states: “A continuous reverse spin movement can deter an approaching animal.” If necessary. a dog should be struck in the nose or throat. it adds.
Lethal force is allowed “when it’s reasonable to protect the officer or other person/s from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.” Officers are cautioned that “The size and speed of an animal can increase the potential of a missed shot and possibility of an officer or bystander being critically injured by a bullet.”.
The directive also says, “Officers may not use lethal force against a dog to protect property including other animals.”
Beyond this case, Los Angeles County has a record of deadly incidents involving dogs. In 2013. Hawthorne police shot a dog four times after it jumped out of a vehicle as they detained its owner; in a video viewed more than 7 million times. the owner pleaded for officers not to shoot the dog. In 2005. a Times investigation examining two decades of LAPD data found that one in four LAPD shootings targeted dogs. with police shot more than 465 dogs—killing at least 200 and wounding at least 140. according to incident reports. The investigation also found that in the latest year available. 2024. with tighter restrictions than in the past. one animal was shot by an officer.
LAPD department statistics say officers have had 32 shootings with dogs since 2018, reflecting a downward trend from seven in 2018 to one last year, according to those figures.
LAPD bodycam Jameson Marie Marseille Jim McDonnell Karen Bass Jordan Avenue use of force dogs police shooting GoFundMe directive No. 11
So they shot the dog??
I’m sorry but if a woman was screaming and they show up, why is the dog the one getting killed. Like did nobody see the “report” wasn’t even about a threat? This whole thing feels awful.
Not defending LAPD at all, but 4 times sounds like training or fear or whatever. Also I saw the headline and thought they were filming a person, not a pet. If the dog was just barking then that’s wild. They should’ve maced it or just backed out, idk.
This is what happens when police get there and instantly go to the gun. The article says 72-hour internal review, but that doesn’t mean anything if they already decided. I keep thinking about that door scene, like why are they even approaching a barking dog like that? And 7500 block of Jordan Avenue… yeah of course it goes viral because people are sick of it. Also “Saint Bernard doodle” sounds made up to me, like who knows what size that thing was.