A Facebook post that went viral locally over the weekend shared the news that Little Rock police shot and killed a black Labrador retriever then arrested the dog’s owner outside a home in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock.  

Little Rock resident Paul Bates posted the following just before 6 p.m. on Sunday:

City police dispatch records show someone called 911 at 4:43 p.m. on Sunday to report a battery in progress at 4822 Country Club Blvd. In a follow-up comment on Facebook, Bates disputed the need for the call.

“There was no battery,” he wrote just before 7 p.m. “I don’t even know why the cop was there in the first place [because] there was no one around. It was just me driving by and then the cop shooting the dog.”

Bates also provided additional context for the incident.

“The dog was in the driveway with the owner,” he wrote. “The cop was walking up to the driveway, still on Country Club Blvd. The dog turned to look at the officer, and the officer shot the dog. The owner … flipped out, [saying] ‘Did you shoot my fucking dog? You shot my fucking dog!’ And then the cop goes, ‘Why wasn’t your fucking dog on a leash then?’”

Court records indicate that the dog’s owner, Thomas Schmidt, was arrested and charged with 2nd degree terroristic threatening, disorderly conduct and attempting to influence a public servant. The threatening and influence charges are class A misdemeanors, which carry up to a year in jail, while the disorderly charge is a class C misdemeanor that could result in up to 30 days in jail. Despite the 911 call, he was not charged with battery or any similar offense. 

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock Police spokesman Mark Edwards declined to comment on the shooting on Monday, saying it was still under investigation.

The Arkansas Times has submitted a FOIA request for the 911 call that preceded the shooting.