UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the dog died on the sidewalk. This was incorrect. The Reminder regrets the error.
A dog is dead following an RCMP shooting on Jan. 20. Now, the dog’s owner is looking for answers.
Cheech, a six-year-old German shepherd-husky cross, was shot after police knocked on the door of her owner Josh Nickerson’s apartment on Jan. 20.
Manitoba RCMP told The Reminder Jan. 21 that officers were following up on a mischief complaint at an apartment block on Hill Street. Looking for a suspect but unsure of which unit the person in question lived in, one officer allegedly knocked on the door of a main floor apartment – Nickerson’s – to find out more information.
Nickerson said a friend went to answer the door and that he was advised that police would be coming by the property.
“My landlord called me earlier that day, saying the police would be over and wanting to talk to my neighbour,” he said.
According to an RCMP statement, when the front door opened, a male opened the door and stepped back inside the apartment, with a dog described as “large” exiting the residence through the door, growling and barking at officers.
“I saw them walking and my buddy was already holding Cheech, with the door open, as I was walking around the corner. You know how dogs bark when people come over,” said Nickerson.
“One officer asked for someone to take control of the dog. Nobody came to the door or called for the dog. No efforts were made to restrain the dog,” read the RCMP statement.
“As the officers were slowly walking backward trying to extricate themselves from the dangerous situation, the request was again made for someone to take control of the dog. Nobody came.”
At this point, the statement says the dog made “gestures of aggression toward one of the officers as if he was going to bite him.”
After retreating from the door, the officer grabbed his firearm and called out a third time for someone to control the dog.
Nickerson said the situation became tense. “One of the officers was saying, ‘You want to keep your dog? You want to keep your dog?’” he said.
Both RCMP and Nickerson agree on what happened next – a gunshot rang out and the dog was dead.
“The dog suddenly lunged at the officer at which point the officer fired one shot, which immediately killed the dog,” read the RCMP statement.
“I have witnesses that saw it all. It happened in a matter of seconds,” said Nickerson.
Nickerson disputes the idea that his dog would be seen as a threat.
“She’s never bit anyone. She just loves playing around,” he said.
“If you’re a new person, walking by, she’ll run up and bark at you, but she won’t do anything. She’ll just bark at you and she’ll be your best friend.”
The RCMP statement said that officers did not enter the apartment and the dog was shot outside. The officer in question, who was not identified in the statement, left the scene and other officers came to the scene to conduct an investigation.
An officer, not on scene for the initial incident, took statements from witnesses.
“A RCMP officer does not make the decision to fire a weapon lightly. In this case, the officer was facing imminent harm,” read the statement.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) were also notified and will follow the RCMP investigation into the incident, taking on “a discretionary monitoring role” during proceedings.
Meanwhile, Nickerson is looking into how the shooting happened. One of his neighbours started a Gofundme page, the proceeds of which Nickerson hopes to use for legal fees and to cremate Cheech. Nickerson plans on taking legal action in the case and thanks family and friends, who he said gave him support following the shooting.
“I couldn’t sleep last night. She slept with me, for six years straight, slept right beside me. She’s what got me through everything. She taught me a lot for a dog,” he said.
“If you hated dogs and were around her, you would love dogs by the end of the day. That’s the kind of personality she had.”
