Officer who shot dog claims he shot in self-defense

Monday, Nov. 29, 1999 | 10:24 a.m.

John Stroz, a Clark County Detention Center corrections officer, said the border collie had a history of terrorizing neighbors and that he was forced to shoot out of fear the dog was going to attack.

"This dog, on several occasions, has charged me and charged several neighbors," Stroz said.

Henderson police last week said they had received no complaints about the dog, Rosie. Stroz said he never complained because he wanted to be a good neighbor.

Stroz, 42, claims fears of being hurt by another dog - he has scars on his stomach from an attack by a German shepherd years ago - prompted the shooting.

"I've been attacked before by an animal," he said. "Without a doubt, I feared that dog was going to do substantial bodily harm to myself."

The Henderson Police Department requested charges last week of discharging a weapon and maiming an animal in connection with the Nov. 22 incident. Officials at the Clark County district attorney's office said they have yet to receive the case.

The dog's owner said it was just trying to play with Stroz' dog and was wagging its tail and not acting violently.

Judith Burns, 49, told Henderson police she came outside to get Rosie after the dog got out of her back yard, which is fenced. At the same time, Stroz was walking home with his leashed terrier and Rosie approached them.

Burns said that as she came out to get Rosie, Stroz was backing himself up against his garage door and telling Burns he was going to shoot Rosie if she came onto his property.

Burns said she was within inches of the animal pleading for its life when Stroz shot the dog with a pistol. Rosie stumbled across the street to her home and died on the front sidewalk.

Stroz, who said he always carries a gun because of his job as a jail guard, said he could not discuss details of the incident because of an internal probe being conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, his employer of nearly four years.

He did show pages of information he found on the Internet about the potential dangers of border collies. He also cited state laws that allow someone to kill a vicious animal "when reasonably necessary to protect his own safety or the public safety."