‘Oh, My God! Oh, My God!’: LAPD Kills Black Woman’s Dog After Neighbor Calls 911 as Research Reveals a Disturbing Pattern That’s Hard to Ignore
Los Angeles police shot and killed a Black woman’s dog after a concerned neighbor dialed 911, believing the woman was in danger because she was screaming. Turns out, Marie Marseille was only celebrating the NBA’s New York Knicks championship victory. Video of the aftermath shows a heartbroken Marseille lying on the floor in front of her apartment, crying while cradling her Knicks shirt-wearing dead dog, a 2‑year‑old golden retriever–Saint Bernard–poodle mix named Jamison. Earlier that night, she had photographed Jamison wearing the Knicks shirt. Los Angeles police shot and killed a dog named Jamison after responding to a call of a woman screaming, who was just celebrating the New York Knicks winning the NBA Championship. (Photo: ABC7) A Knicks Celebration Ends in Heartbreak Police body cameras may have captured the shooting, but police have not released the footage. “Oh, my god! Oh, my God,” Marseille cried. “I cannot believe this is happening. I cannot believe this is happening.” "We were just so happy. We were just so happy. We were just celebrating the Knicks. We were f_cking celebrating the Knicks!” Meanwhile, several LAPD cops were standing around, appearing clueless as to what to do. LAPD issued a statement saying the dog came charging at the cop, implying the cop feared for his life. ‘Please Don’t Cancel Me!’: White TikToker Deactivates All of Her Social Media Accounts After Posting Video Mocking Black Moms ‘He Should Know Better’: Georgia Attorney Crashes Out on Truck Driver Over a Red Light, Then One Decision Turns a Bad Day Into a Nightmare “He was a playful dog,” Marseille’s son, Jeremiah Garcia, told CBS Los Angeles. “It’s tearing my body apart waking up and not having him at the foot of my bed.” Garcia said he was watching the game nearby with his girlfriend when he called his mother through FaceTime. He then heard a knock on the door, followed by two gunshots. “Soon as my mother opens the door to greet the officer, Jamison sprints out as an opportunity just to greet someone else and then, you know, that’s what happened,” Garcia said. Garcia said he came rushing home to find Jamison dead in front of the apartment, still wearing the Knicks shirt. “Everyone loved that dog,” he said while shedding tears. ‘He Wasn’t Aggressive’ The shooting took place around 9 p.m. Saturday night after the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs to win their third NBA championship, the first one since 1973. Marseille, a nurse from New York, was ecstatic. But LAPD officers cut the celebration short when they knocked on her door. LAPD said Marseille opened the door with the dog by her side, who was barking at the cops. They said they told her to secure the dog, so she closed the door, then reopened it. But police say Jamison then came running out of the apartment, prompting the shooting. “Once outside of the apartment, the dog charged at one of the officers, resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting,” the statement from the LAPD said. But Marseille said the cops overreacted. “Jamison wasn't baring teeth,” she told Fox 11. “He wasn't growling. He wasn't aggressive. He wasn't barking. He was just moving towards the officer.” Residents Are Furious After the shooting, several residents then stepped out of their apartments to record the aftermath, admonishing the cops. "Such a good dog," a woman says. “You guys killed a dog when there’s f_cking drug dealers and sh_t outside,” a man says. “What is the purpose of all of you?” a woman says. “Hey, good job,” a man says sarcastically while clapping. “This is what we pay for. Amazing. Amazing. Good work, guys.” A police officer approached Marseille and apologized as she cradled her dog on the ground. The neighbor who called 911 told local media they feel guilty for calling police but believed Marseille was in danger. Activists, meanwhile, are demanding the release of the body camera footage. "The video should be released immediately to show there’s transparency and also accountability within the department, because unfortunately, the LAPD has a history of controversial shootings of Black people and now they’re killing and shooting Black people’s dogs," said Najee Ali with the Los Angeles National Action Network. Cops Kill More Dogs in Minority Neighborhoods The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that police officers kill about 10,000 dogs each year, but the actual number may be higher because departments do not keep official records. Most of these shootings are no different than this one — an excited or curious dog runs up to greet the officers. But despite possessing batons, pepper spray, and tasers, cops tend to pull out their guns to shoot them dead. A 2020 study indicated that cops in Los Angeles tend to kill more dogs in low-income minority neighborhoods compared to affluent white neighborhoods. “Violence committed against canines in these communities is an expression of larger trends in state violence that routinely takes place during the serving of search warrants, as part of stops and frisks of pedestrians, and as a result of investigatory traffic stops that disproportionately target communities,” the study states. The cops are rarely disciplined because they claim they are in fear for their lives, and they tend to brush these shootings off as insignificant despite the heartbreak they may cause families, writing them off as collateral damage. Yet when a police dog is killed in the line of duty, departments often deploy an honor guard – a ceremonial unit of uniformed officers who escort the K‑9’s casket and perform formal salutes, just as they would for a fallen human officer. The police dogs are then added to the Officer Down Memorial Page, while the person who shot the dog may face felony charges and prison time. Yet when a cop kills a police dog, it is usually treated as an internal matter that occasionally results in the cop being fired, but nothing more than that.
