Philly police officer fatally shoots dog attacking man in Mantua

A Philadelphia police officer fatally shot a cane corso that was part of a pack of four dogs attacking a man Wednesday morning in the city’s Mantua section, police said.

The officer, who was not identified, was on patrol in a department vehicle about 10:15 a.m. when a civilian pointed out that there were dogs running loose nearby, police said.

At the intersection of Fairmount Avenue and Union Street, the officer saw a 53-year-old man being attacked by the four dogs, including a cane corso and three pit bulls, police said. The officer activated his siren in an attempt to scare off the dogs, but that failed.

The officer got out of his vehicle and shot the cane corso, police said. The attack stopped and medics took the victim to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.

Police did not say whether they found the owner of the dogs or whether they knew why the dogs were running loose.

The officer, who was not injured, was placed on administrative duty while the shooting was being reviewed by Internal Affairs and Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations, the department said.

Video posted on social media shows a police cruiser stopped at an intersection with its siren activated while four dogs are running loose. The cane corso, which can weigh more than 100 pounds, is twice the size of the pit bulls. The other dogs could have been smaller because they were possibly much younger.

The dogs run to the man, who is standing at the corner, and knock him to the ground. At least two civilians are seen trying to intervene. The officer gets out of his vehicle with his gun drawn. Someone can be heard apparently yelling for the officer to shoot the dogs.

A few seconds pass and then he fires once at the cane corso, which doesn’t stop the attack, then fires three more times. The attack stops and the cane corso runs off and then collapses.