Texas police shoot dog after autocorrect sends them to wrong address
WACO, Texas - The Waco Police Department says it is "saddened" after its officers shot and killed a family pet when its officers responded to the wrong address.
On June 3, officers were called to respond to a burglary in progress. According to police, the 9-1-1 caller said that someone had kicked their door in and in the background the dispatcher could hear a male's voice saying, "I'm not trying to hurt you."
The call then disconnected.
Dispatchers entered the address into the system for the 3200 block of N. 20th Street A. The police department says the dispatch system autocorrected the address to the 3200 block of N. 20th Street, without the A, which is a different street nearby.
Police responded to the address "in good faith," according to Waco PD.
When officers arrived they saw the back door was open, as the 9-1-1 caller had indicated.
As officers entered the apartment and announced their presence multiple dogs came running at the officers.
Waco Police say one of the dogs lunged at an officer twice and that one of the officers fired at the dog, hitting him.
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The dog, Finn, was taken to an emergency medical clinic where he died.
"We are regretful of the outcome regarding our response that resulted in the death of Finn. We will work diligently to confirm the address entered into our Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system is accurate and precise. We are engaging the CAD system manufacturer to ensure that steps are taken to prevent any similar occurrence," said Waco Police in a statement posted online.
Waco PD says they checked out the correct address. There were no injuries or arrests made in connection to that dispute.