A candlelight vigil was planned for Sunday evening for a Rottweiler killed by police during an arrest of his owner in a case that was captured in an online video that went viral.
The event, which marks the two-week anniversary of the dog's death, will take place from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the site where he died, at 137th Street and Jefferson Avenue in Hawthorne.
Leon Cordell Rosby's dog, Max, was shot June 30 when an officer fired his gun after the Rottweiler jumped from an open car window and lunged toward him during a SWAT stand-off with armed robbers, police said.
After shooting the dog, police booked Rosby into the Los Angeles County Jail on a misdemeanor obstruction charge in connection with the incident. He was held overnight before being released.
The video capturing the shooting has been seen millions of times on YouTube (Warning: Disturbing Content).
The incident garnered threats against Hawthorne police, including from the hacktivist group Anonymous.
The police department, in its own video, defended their actions, saying the dog was a threat.
In a letter to the community on Wednesday, Hawthorne Police Chief Robert Fager wrote he has called in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office to conduct its own independent investigation into the case. He also said he has kicked off a task force made up of animal rights activists to study how to best handle confrontations between police and animals.
Fager said charges against Rosby will be forwarded to prosecutors for their review.
Rosby, meanwhile, has filed a $25,000 claim against the city in connection with the shooting.
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