LOS ANGELES — The New York Knicks had just won the NBA championship Saturday night when Los Angeles police were called to an apartment complex in Canoga Park amid reports of a person screaming.

Minutes later, an officer opened fire on a pet Saint Bernard doodle that was wearing a Knicks shirt.

The death of Jameson has sparked outrage and questions across the city, prompting Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell to promise a full investigation and Mayor Karen Bass to offer a public tribute to the dog.

“Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever,” Bass said in a statement amid mounting outcry.

A video widely shared on social media shows the dog’s owner sobbing in the hallway of the apartment complex, hugging Jameson as six L.A. police officers stand nearby.

“The Knicks just won a championship, we were so happy,” she yells out.

Neighbors can be heard angrily admonishing officers for killing the dog.

The incident has raised new questions about use-of-force protocols when it comes to dogs and whether reforms are needed.

Police have offered only a limited narrative of what happened.

Officers arrived and spoke with the resident who’d been reportedly screaming.

LAPD officers said they got to the woman’s apartment and asked her to secure her dog. She closed the door and opened it again, which is when Jameson went outside.

Police say Jameson then “charged” an officer, who fatally shot the 2-year-old pup.

“The loss of a pet is deeply personal. For many, a dog is not simply an animal; it is a companion, a source of comfort, and a member of the family,” McDonnell said. “LAPD officers face unknown dangers on a daily basis, but I expect them to exercise sound judgment, restraint, and respect for life whenever possible. That expectation is reflected in our training, policies, and specific guidance on encounters with dogs. All those factors will be carefully reviewed as part of this investigation.”

A GoFundMe has raised more than $188,000 for Jameson’s owner, Marie Marseille, and her son.

Marseille told NBC Los Angeles that her family was celebrating the Knicks’ NBA Championship win when officers showed up.

“Next thing I know, he was on the ground,” Marseille said. “I see the officer shoot him twice. I did see that. I was right there when it happened.”

In a phone interview with the Los Angeles Times, her sister, Vanessa Marseille, said the family was shocked and devastated over the incident.

“We just don’t know why it happened,” she said. “What’s more scary is that those shots could have hit her or anyone. It was reckless.”

Marseille said her sister told her that she was closing the door when Jameson got out and was shot multiple times. Her nephew told her Jameson wasn’t barking or growling when he exited the apartment.

“It’s just tragic,” she said.

Marseille said her sister was born and raised in New York and left for California in 2014 for work.

Two years ago, she said, her sister purchased Jameson.

“He was the oldest of seven puppies,” Marseille said. “He’s quiet and energetic.”

Marseille said the dog was always with her sister or nephew.

“Every time on FaceTime with Jeremiah, he’s always walking the dog,” she said. “When he takes my sister to work, Jameson is in the car, wagging his tongue.”

At home, she said, her sister and Jameson had their own routine.

“Before he eats his food, they pray together,” she said. “That was her second son.”

“Jameson was 2 years old, and he was taken from us too soon,” the family’s GoFundMe page read. “Anyone who’s met Jameson would tell you he is the sweetest boy in the world. Please help us raise money to get Justice for Jameson and any cremation fees.”

California, unlike Texas and Colorado, does not mandate canine encounter training for police officers. The LAPD issues a detailed guideline in the form of a bulletin to police officers. An attempt to mandate such training failed to get approve by state lawmakers in 2017.

LAPD Use of Force Directive No. 11 outlines the protocol for dog encounters.

According to the department’s directive written in 2023, officers should consider voice commands or using pepper spray, a baton or a fire extinguisher as options before using lethal force against a “hostile dog.” The directive advises officers arriving at a scene to assess whether a dog may be present and reminds them their main concern upon arrival is “safety.”

The directive advises officers to remember all dogs can bite.

When facing a hostile dog, should voice commands and pepper spray not work, baton techniques can be employed.

“A continuous reverse spin movement can deter an approaching animal,” the directive states. If necessary, a dog should be struck in the nose or throat, it adds.

Fire extinguishers and a stun gun can also be used, per the directive, but it cautions that it is hard to strike a moving target with a stun gun.

Lethal force is allowed “when it’s reasonable to protect the officer or other person/s from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.”

Officers are cautioned: “The size and speed of an animal can increase the potential of a missed shot and possibility of an officer or bystander being critically injured by a bullet.”

“Officers may not use lethal force against a dog to protect property including other animals,” the directive says.

Marseille denied the allegation from police that her dog charged at them.

“I don’t know if charged is the right word,” she told NBC4. “Jameson, he is a very playful dog, very happy and energetic and excited, if he barked. He has never bitten anyone.”

Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force expert and Northern California deputy, said “we need to see the body cam to understand what happened here. The department said it was an aggressive dog. But the images released so far don’t tell us what happened.”

Law enforcement in Los Angeles County has a track record of deadly incidents with dogs.

In 2013, Hawthorne police shot a dog four times after it jumped out of a vehicle as they detained its owner. In a video viewed more than 7 million times, the owner pleaded for officers not to shoot the dog.

In 2005, a Los Angeles Times investigation examining two decades of LAPD data found that one in four LAPD shootings targeted dogs. Police shot more than 465 dogs, killing at least 200 and wounding at least 140, incident reports revealed. However, in the latest year available, 2024, with tighter restrictions than in the past, one animal was shot by an officer.

According to LAPD department statistics, its officers have had 32 shootings with dogs since 2018, with the numbers reflecting a downward trend.

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