PETITION TARGET: Lodi Police Department, city of Lodi, San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office
UPDATE (3/20/2023): The San Joaquin County District Attorney has declined to pursue criminal charges against the officer involved in Enzo’s death. Meanwhile, the police department has said an internal investigation is still ongoing regarding whether officers violated any policies. The department also reportedly has scheduled training for personnel provided by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and plans to buy additional equipment to handle animal-related calls, as well as review its taser and animal services policies, according to news reports. We’ll continue to watch this case. — Lady Freethinker Staff
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Enzo, a 2-year-old husky beloved by his family, died after being tased twice and dragged by officers in Lodi, California, according to news reports.
Enzo reportedly escaped from his family’s home through an unlatched door and was on the loose when officers reportedly received a complaint about a reportedly “aggressive” dog.
Surrounded by police and animal control officers, Enzo first tried to escape. Surveillance video then shows the dog standing still as an officer approaches and tases the dog, who then collapses. Video then shows the officer tasing Enzo again and dragging the dog across the pavement to behind the animal control van, where the dog reportedly died, according to video footage and news reports.
Additional information about how exactly Enzo died has not been released.
Witnesses who lived nearby said that Enzo allegedly had been “wagging his tail” before being tased and that the tasing allegedly had been “unnecessary,” according to news reports.
Currently, Lodi’s animal control ordinances indicate that police may confine or seize a dog on the loose — but the ordinances say nothing specifically about repeatedly using force, including tasers, that could result in the animal’s death in order to do so.
The Lodi Police Department said they’ll carry out an internal investigation — and it’s critical that the investigation be comprehensive, thorough, and fair.
Sign our petition urging the Lodi Police Department and the city of Lodi to thoroughly investigate the use of force that led to Enzo’s death, and for the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office to take this case seriously. We’re also asking the department and the city to provide additional training to all officers about other methods of humanely confining and restraining dogs that could have been used in this situation to prevent any additional, unnecessary dog deaths.
