Video captured the moments after Los Angeles police fatally shot a dog that was wearing a New York Knicks jersey as officers were responding to calls of a screaming woman — screaming which turned out to be a celebration of the Knicks winning the NBA championship.
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Shortly after the Knicks won the NBA Finals on Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department shot and killed the dog while responding to an unrelated incident, the LAPD said in a news release on Tuesday.
The LAPD said it was responding to a radio call about a “screaming woman” in Canoga Park, a Los Angeles neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
When the person reporting the screaming directed officers to an apartment unit, a resident opened the door to the responding officers, the LAPD said. Beside her was what the LAPD described as a “large dog” barking at officers.
“The officers asked her to secure the dog, and the resident closed her door momentarily. She re-opened the door, and the dog exited the apartment,” the release states. “Once outside of the apartment, the dog charged at one of the officers, resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting (OIS).”
The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services was notified, responded to the scene, and took custody of the deceased dog, the LAPD said. The pup’s owner was at scene and cooperated with the investigation, according to the release.
The dog’s name was Jameson, the owner’s girlfriend told NBC News on Tuesday.
A video that’s been seen more than 15 million times on TikTok shows a woman on the floor, lying over the deceased dog wearing a blue and orange t-shirt.
“The Knicks just won the championship,” she wails. “We were just so happy. We just celebrating the Knicks.”
About half a dozen officers are seen in the video standing by the grieving woman.
“This is absolutely crazy,” the woman says. “We didn’t do anything.”
People off camera are heard yelling at the officers.
“This is f—ing pathetic when there’s drug dealers, people stabbing each other outside,” someone off-camera shouts.
The LAPD later told NBC Los Angeles that the woman was shouting because she was celebrating the Knicks winning.
The Knicks won against the San Antonio spurs in the NBA Finals Game 5 on Saturday, delivering New York its first NBA championship in 53 years.
