Pictured is a newer photo of TigerT, who was four years old and was fatally wounded by multiple gunshots rendered by an Owego Police officer on July 31 between the area of Main Street and Spencer Avenue in Owego, N.Y. (Facebook Photo)
Early this morning, Aug. 1, calls were received and there was an outpouring of inquiries to the Owego Pennysaver regarding the fatal shooting of a four-year old pit-bull named TigerT. The dog belonged to Alfred Thornton, age 48, of 64 Spencer Ave. in the Village of Owego, N.Y.
A distraught Alfred Thornton offered a story that differed, slightly, from a police report that was received at 4:21 p.m. on Aug. 1, and following several inquiries by the writer to village officials for further information as to what caused the scene of events that occurred.
According to Police Chief Karen Vinti, on Friday, July 31, 2015, unidentified officers of the Owego Police Department (OPD) were dispatched to the area of 59 Spencer Ave. in the Village of Owego for an aggressive dog who broke through a fence and was running at large.
While enroute, officers were flagged down near the intersection of Main and Church Street by an unidentified male subject who was bleeding from his mouth.
Pictured is TigerT at the age of six months. TigerT was fatally wounded by multiple gunshots rendered by an Owego Police Department Officer on July 31 between the area of Main Street and Spencer Avenue in Owego, N.Y. (Facebook Photo)
The male subject told OPD officers, according to Chief Vinti, that he and his dog had been attacked by a dog that lunged up and bit him in the face.
Chief Vinti’s report further explained that OPD officers immediately located a male youth holding the dog by its rear legs, and as one officer tossed a leash to the boy the dog broke loose and attacked the other officer, biting him in his left hand and knocking him to the ground.
After a brief struggle, according to police reports, the dog broke loose and charged the second officer who then fired two shots at the dog, striking him in his torso. Officers reported that the dog ran towards Spencer Avenue, where he resided with his owner, and that the officer followed.
According to the police report, the dog (TigerT) stopped and came towards the officer in an aggressive manner at which time the dog was shot for a third time.
The dog wandered onto a neighboring porch, which we learned earlier in the a.m. belonged to Charles Lohmeyer, and died shortly after from his injuries.
The dog owner, according to the police report, originally left the scene but was later located in an apartment on North Avenue and taken into custody.
The police reported that Alfred E. Thornton, 48, of 64 Spencer Ave. was arrested under Article 26, the New York State Ag and Market Law, for allowing a Dangerous Dog, a misdemeanor; and Dog Running at Large, a violation of Village Ordinance.
Thornton was issued appearance tickets and released.
According to the report received by Chief Vinti, the officer was treated at the scene and later at the hospital where he received several stitches for his injuries.
Chief Vinti also noted in her report that the investigation is continuing and further charges are pending.
The culmination of this scene is reminiscent of stories already inundating social media about dogs being perceived as aggressive, as the story initially unfolded of this four-year old pit-bull named TigerT.
When the story was originally reported, we reached out to the Owego Police Department (OPD), but did not receive a response until the initial report was posted on the Owego Pennysaver’s website (www.owegopennysaver.com), and opened a discussion regarding dog ownership, and the stigma associated with certain breeds.
It also opened an interesting online conversation into the prospects of further training for officers, not only locally but nationwide, regarding the handling of aggressive dogs.
The Owego Pennysaver did, however, receive a slightly different story from Alfred Thornton, and a witness residing with Charlie Lohmeyer, the man whose porch the dog took its final breath upon.
According to Alfred Thornton, his son, Al Thornton IV, was walking TigerT’s six-month old puppy the evening of July 31 when the puppy’s father, TigerT, managed to jump the family’s 4-foot fence and was then running at large.
Al Thornton IV, according to Alfred Thornton, attempted to catch TigerT, and was assisted by a man who was walking two dogs. At that point, and during the telephone interview, Alfred Thornton made no mention that TigerT was aggressive to the unidentified man who was trying to assist.
According to Alfred Thornton, the man walking the two dogs offered the use of a chain to contain TigerT when the police officer approached.
According to an account by Alfred Thornton, derived from witness reports of those at the scene, the OPD officer attempted to reach for the dog and was bit in the hand.
The same witnesses, who chose to remain anonymous, reported that the same OPD officer discharged his weapon multiple times, fatally wounding TigerT.
Alfred Thornton’s own account of the scene differed slightly, in that he stated he could hear what was going on from over on North Avenue in Owego, N.Y. at the time of the incident.
“I heard two gun shots, and started running over towards Spencer Avenue,” said Alfred Thornton. He also received a text message from his wife to alert him of what was taking place.
According to Alfred Thornton, TigerT was mostly likely on Main Street near Chemung Canal Bank when the shots were initially fired. Alfred Thornton assumed this as a blood trail from the dog led from Chemung Canal over to Spencer Avenue. Alfred Thornton was also told by witness accounts that there were multiple shots fired as the mortally wounded dog attempted to return home to safety.
According to Charlie Lohmeyer, a Spencer Avenue resident, the dog actually made it as far as his residence [Charlie Lohmeyer], where the dog finally collapsed. Lohmeyer also stated that witness accounts claimed that the unidentified officer fired four more shots, with the fatal shot rendered to the dog’s head.
Lohmeyer was not home at the time, but an individual residing at the same residence witnessed the scene, and offered him the full account when he returned home.
Alfred Thornton, on the other hand, stated that he ran over to Spencer Avenue where his dog was lying on Lohmeyer’s porch, with critical injuries from the bullet wounds.
Alfred Thornton stated that the OPD officer told him to step back.
A tearful Alfred Thornton, in a phone interview on Saturday morning, stated, “They wouldn’t even let me be with my dog as he was taking his last breath.”
Lohmeyer, when he returned home to the “chaos”, as he described it, said that a pool of blood remains on the sidewalk at Spencer and Main Streets, across from a youth bible study that was taking place outdoors.
“This action terrorized at least fifty children in the area,” said Lohmeyer. He also noted that he did not think the dog was aggressive, personally, and that he often would have visits from the dog at his own home.
Alfred Thornton reported this morning (Aug. 1), that he was given citations following the incident; one for owning an aggressive dog, one for a dog running at large, and battery charges for the dog injuring an officer.
As reported above by Chief Vinti, the officer’s hand required care, and then stitches.
