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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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The owner of a dog that was shot in the face by police in Michigan has vowed to take legal action after the officer involved was cleared of wrongdoing.
Body camera footage released by the Wayne State University Police Department showed an officer shooting Ace, a 10-year-old goldendoodle, after the dog ran towards two officers who were carrying out a wellness check at an apartment complex in midtown Detroit on Friday night.
A spokesperson for the police department confirmed to Newsweek that after an investigation, it was determined that the officer who shot Ace was not at fault.
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"The department conducted a thorough investigation, including reviewing video and interviewing witnesses," the spokesperson said. "The finding is that the officer did not do anything wrong."
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Ace's owner Robin Gamble told Newsweek that she was angered by the decision to clear the officer, but said she also expected it because they view dogs "as property, and they don't really care."
The shot that struck Ace went through the dog's jaw and cracked two of his teeth. Ace is recovering, Gamble said, but she is now planning on pursuing legal action.
WSU Police Chief Anthony Holt told Newsweek earlier this week that there was no determination he could make other than to find the officer was not at fault after reviewing the footage and interviewing witnesses.
He said the body camera footage showed the dog was barking aggressively as he came towards the officer, who "had no recourse, he was boxed in the corner with nowhere to retreat."
But Gamble questioned that, saying that only one of the two officers who were present shot Ace.
"I don't think that shooting the dog was the first thing that he should have done," Gamble said. "Dogs, they do bark. That's how they communicate."
The officer "just spun around and shot the dog," she added. "If his partner is not feeling like he's about to die, then why did he? And they're standing next to each other."
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She said Ace is an emotional support animal, and has never had any problems being around people.
"He's an over-sized poodle," she said. "[The officer could] turn around and assess the situation, kick the dog, tell his owner, 'grab your dog or I'm gonna kill him.' Something, but don't just shoot him. And why are we shooting dogs in the head? Why is that first?"
Gamble said she has filed a complaint with the police department, which Holt said would be thoroughly reviewed.
"It's not like we don't care. We're a very dog-friendly campus," he said. "We are sorry, it happened. Any use of force, we're very sorry to happen."
Gamble wants the department to implement a protocol and training for how officers should behave in such situations.
She said she is thankful that her 18-year-old son, Justin Fuller, was not shot.
"One of those bullets could have hit my son. I think it's negligent," she said.
Fuller was standing nearby but froze when he saw the officer with a gun. Gamble said the officers failed to provide assistance after the shooting.
"All he asked 'was help me, help the dog,' and they didn't do that," she said.
Her boyfriend, who arrived before she did, took Ace to the pet hospital.
The incident has left her family further traumatized, Gamble said, after her other son was killed in a shooting last summer.
She has not been able to watch the body camera footage of the incident, she said.
"But that can't be erased from my son, because he saw everything and so he's the one that can't sleep at night and has issues of anxiety because his brother was killed and now he watched his best friend that I got him for his birthday, right, get shot in front of his eyes," she said.
Gamble is feeling unsafe and considering moving out of her home.
"I'll probably move because this is not good," she said. "As soon as you walk outside, you remember."
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