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Arkansas cop goes to wrong house and shoots child’s dog dead after it barked at him, Internet says 'fire him now'

James Freeman from the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office was told the sex offender he was looking for stayed at the house

FAULKNER COUNTY, ARKANSAS: A police officer shot and killed a family's pet dog for 'barking at him' after reportedly mistaking their address for a sex offender's house. The police officer, James Freeman from the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office, showed up at Chris Coiner's house where he shot Clide, the family's three-year-old mixed-breed terrier, dead. Coiner shared a video of the events following the shooting. The incident took place in Greenbrier.

In the video, Coiner is seen confronting Freeman and yelling at him saying, "you shot and killed my goddamn dog, you motherf****r! Get off my property, motherf****r! You are a motherf****r, you piece of motherf***ing sh*t!" According to a spokesperson for the sheriff's office who spoke to KATV, Freeman had been in Greenbrier for a sex offender compliance check but had gone to the wrong house. The department had released a statement and said that the dog was "barking and growling" at Freeman and had approached him "aggressively".

Sheriff Tim Ryals said in a statement, "Investigator Freeman was placed in an unfortunate situation with his back against the mobile home and no way to escape the dog. He again told the dog to get back and the dog lunged at him. As a result, Investigator Freeman deployed his weapon on the animal." However, Coiner has claimed that Clide was not attacking Feeman and the cop had only shot the dog for barking at him. Coiner told KATV, "My daughter was coming to the door and said somebody was in the driveway. Just a blue pickup, unmarked. Before I was even around the corner here, I heard a shot, and the officer had shot my dog right here in the yard for barking at him."

"My girlfriend watched it out the window, the dog was not attacking him, the dog was barking, in my yard, on private property," Coiner added. Freeman had initially gone to the property next door but was allegedly told that the sex offender lived in Coiner's home. Coiner said he was 'livid' but Freeman "did not care one bit." While speaking to Fox 16 News, he said, "He did not make any attempt to get away from it, he didn’t make any attempt to get back in his vehicle, all he did was shoot the dog because he was barking at him."

Coiner added how Clide was his son's "buddy" and had described the dog as being a "family member". The statement from Sheriff Ryals shared, "After a thorough investigation, we have concluded that no policies or laws were violated. We, in law enforcement, answer calls every day that require split-second, life and death decisions. We strive to be right 100 percent of the time. Our department is saddened by this unfortunate incident and sincerely apologize for any distress it may have caused." 

Another Faulkner cop had shot a dog in January last year according to KATV. The dog had managed to survive but the cop was later fired and charged with animal cruelty. Many social media users were left outraged at the news of Clide's killing and took to commenting on the same. One such user shared, "This is not okay. NOT okay. I support law enforcement but this guy is a bad apple. You can deflect a dog in other ways that do no harm. I doubt this man has an internalized sense of right and wrong if he could do such a thing."

Another added, "This is just so so sad. How about just get back in your big truck if you’re afraid of a dog? His stupidity & callousness is highly inexcusable." Yet another commented, "@CountyFaulkner!!!!! This officer needs to be FIRED immediately!!! The world has eyes on YOU now!! And we will be waiting."