Callaway County deputy shoots dog while serving warrant

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Callaway County deputy shot a dog on Tuesday while serving a warrant near Auxvasse.

The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Thursday social media post that Deputy Zach Hubbard shot a dog on Tate Drive near Auxvasse. The sheriff’s office showed body camera footage of the two responding deputies that ends right before a shot is fired. ABC 17 News has requested footage of the full incident.

Video footage online shows Hubbard arrive at a residence in his patrol vehicle and is greeted by a growling dog after he steps out of his vehicle.

The sheriff’s office wrote that Hubbard pepper-sprayed the dog. The dog in the video is then seen running off and the OC spray is seen in Hubbard’s left hand. Footage from Deputy Chad Wimmer’s body camera shows Hubbard use the spray.

Both deputies then walk up to the door of the residence and two other dogs are seen on camera. Another dog – which the sheriff’s office claims was the dog that was sprayed – runs at Hubbard. The deputy is seen pulling out his gun and the video cuts.

In the release, the sheriff’s office says Hubbard believed “the dog posed an immediate threat of injury to his safety.”

The sheriff’s office then wrote that a female resident opened the door and law enforcement explained what happened. The father of a youth that allegedly was taking care of the dog placed a blanket over the dead animal, the sheriff’s office wrote.

The office wrote that deputies were trying to serve an arrest warrant to Michael Smith, who was wanted on suspicion of carjacking, tampering with a vehicle, harassment, fourth-degree assault and second-degree property damage. Charges did not appear on Casenet on Thursday afternoon. The dog allegedly belonged to Smith.

“After confirming the dog had passed, the father of the juvenile respectfully covered the animal with a blanket. Deputies remained at the residence, from a distance, until a [l]ieutenant arrived who was briefed on what had happened. Deputies left the residence at approximately 4:45 PM,” the release says. The sheriff’s office claims it was not releasing “the complete body-worn camera footage at this time because it contains images of a juvenile female who was not fully clothed,” the release says.

Law enforcement went back to the residence at 11:20 p.m. and detained Smith, who bonded out of jail on Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office told ABC 17 News that Hubbard has been with them since 2021 and Wimmer started last year.