A call to check on a screaming woman turned out to be a celebration. By the end of it, a family's dog was dead — and now the city is being sued.
What happened
Officers from the LAPD's Topanga Division went to the 7500 block of Jordan Avenue in Canoga Park at about 8:55 p.m. on June 13 after a neighbor reported hearing a woman screaming, prompting a welfare check, NBC Los Angeles reported. The screaming, it emerged, was celebration: the resident, Marie Marseille, a 45-year-old nurse and lifelong New York Knicks fan, was marking the team's first NBA championship in 53 years with family.
During the encounter, officers shot and killed Marseille's dog, Jameson. The department later released body-worn camera footage of the shooting, ABC7 reported.
Conflicting accounts
The lawsuit and the police describe the seconds before the shooting differently. Marseille's complaint alleges an officer "fired multiple shots and killed Jameson in cold blood," without trying to calm the dog or giving her a chance to do so, and it describes Jameson as a Labradoodle — a breed, the suit says, that is "not considered dangerous or aggressive as to strangers." The LAPD has said the dog posed an immediate threat to an officer.
The department's own policy allows force against an animal only when it "poses an immediate threat," and the suit leans on that standard, arguing the response was unjustified.
The lawsuit and the city's response
Marseille's suit, filed against the city of Los Angeles, alleges excessive force, negligence and "unconstitutional municipal customs, practices and policies," and seeks unspecified damages. Her attorney has said the family's focus is accountability rather than money. The allegations are unproven, and the city has not been found liable.
City leaders responded quickly after the footage was released. Mayor Karen Bass said she is seeking a reevaluation of the LAPD's use-of-force policies as they apply to pets. Chief Jim McDonnell called the killing tragic and vowed a full investigation, while the department declined to comment on the pending litigation. The case has drawn wide attention among animal advocates, with an online fundraiser collecting more than $200,000.
Why it matters
Police shootings of family dogs are a recurring flashpoint between departments and the communities they serve, and they often turn on split-second judgments captured — or not — on video. Here, the footage exists, the mayor has questioned the policy behind it, and a court will now weigh whether officers acted within the law. For a family that called no one and was celebrating a basketball title, the central question is why a welfare check ended with their dog dead on the floor.
