SLO reaches settlement with couple after police officer shot their dog
A couple whose dog was fatally shot in September 2019 by a San Luis Obispo police officer has settled with the city for $70,000.
Nick Regalia and his girlfriend Riley Manford each received $35,000 as part of a settlement with the city that will avoid any litigation, City Attorney Christine Dietrick said.
The agreement admits no fault, but Dietrick said SLO officials are mindful of the impact the incident has had on the couple.
“We feel terribly about the loss of the dog,” Dietrick said.
Since the incident, SLOPD has adding a training course on how to safely handle dog encounters.
Dietrick said the training isn’t directly related in any way to the claim the dog owners filed against the city.
What happened
The dog shooting took place at a home in the 600 block of Santa Rosa Street on the morning of Sept. 26, 2019, a half-block away from the city’s police station, after two officers responded to a false report of a burglary at the residence.
The Police Department said the animal was charging at the officer as he fired the shots. But that version of events has been disputed by Manford, who came outside to greet officers when Bubs started barking loudly. She said the dog never charged at the officer.
Officer Joshua Walsh told her to restrain the dog, Manford said, but she didn’t because she was afraid of being shot. Walsh fired three times at the animal, striking him twice.
Despite working with a lawyer to pursue litigation, Regalia said he never saw the body camera footage of the incident that he said the city should have released publicly as a matter of transparency.
“Let’s see the tape,” Regalia said. “They can talk about transparency, but they haven’t shown it.”
Dietrick has repeatedly said that body cam footage involving serious injuries or death of animals isn’t required to be released under state law, as it is when people are involved.
As a matter of consistency, Dietrick said the city doesn’t want to start releasing body cam footage unless it’s legally required to do so because it sets a precedent that could lead to other requests that aren’t legally required. She called it “a slippery slope.”
SLO dog owner reacts
Regalia said that he has been paying off veterinary bills related to case for the past year, while dealing with the financial challenges of COVID-19.
He said the emotional toll of losing his beloved dog, a pit bull/boxer mix, has been devastating.
“This has been extremely difficult, and has created a major upheaval in my life, financially and the rest,” Regalia said. “And it just doesn’t seem like the city has done much about making sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Regalia told The Tribune on Thursday that he wishes the department would have fired Walsh, the officer who shot his dog.
“I would give every penny of the settlement if (Walsh) were to be fired,” Regalia said. “This could have killed someone, and he’s still on the streets doing his job.”
Walsh had been placed on leave but returned to patrol duty on July 13, according to the city. It’s unclear why Walsh specifically was placed on leave, due to confidentiality protections.
SLOPD’s animal training program
Interim Police Chief Jeff Smith said the new training provided to officers is a two-hour online course prepared by California Peace Officer Standards and Training.
The course is titled “Dog Encounters: Keeping Officers Safe.”
“Dogs are an integral part of a family and may be found in one out of every three homes that a peace officer responds to,” according to the course description provided by SLOPD. “The purpose of this training is to assist peace officers in understanding dog behavior, provide tactical approaches for positive outcomes with dog encounters, and to highlight proper levels of force in dealing with dogs to keep peace officers and others safe.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 4:49 PM.
%20Cropped.jpg)