U. Police officer shoots, kills doberman

The dog died at 4:55 p.m. yesterday. The pure-bred doberman pinscher took his last breath as an SPCA worker lifted him into a truck more than an hour after being shot by a University Police officer. The off-duty officer shot and killed the doberman as the dog made a final charge at an elderly woman emptying her trash. According to University Police Sergeant Thomas Rambo, the officer saw the dog attack a woman in front of her house on 47th Street between Springfield and Chester streets, as the officer was leaving a friend's house around 3:45 p.m. Rambo said the woman picked up a board in an effort to fend off the dog, while the officer yelled at the doberman to distract it. The dog, undaunted by both the board and the officer, attacked a second and a third time, according to Rambo. "The officer made many attempts to stop the dog," Rambo said last night. "The woman was in jeopardy of receiving serious bodily injury." According to police, as the dog attacked for the third time, the woman froze and appeared unable to defend herself. The officer drew the weapon and fired one round into the dog's chest, Rambo said. The mortally wounded dog ran into a "secluded junk pile," while University Police notified the SPCA, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. An SPCA official, who did not know the name of the dog or its owner, said last night that the male doberman died as the dog was lifted into an SPCA truck. Rambo said last night that University Police are investigating the incident. He declined to release the officer's name or that of the elderly woman, the dog and its owner.

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