Las Cruces police shoot dog, provide limited details

A city of Las Cruces spokesperson confirmed that police shot a dog on May 28, but did not provide substantive information about the shooting.

Mandy Guss, a spokesperson for the city, confirmed that a Las Cruces police officer shot a dog on the 200 block of Branding Iron Circle around 10:50 a.m. Tuesday.

“LCPD was assisting the Mobile Integrated Health Unit with the Fire Department,” Guss wrote in an email response. “The officer discharged a firearm on a large, aggressive dog. The dog has not died.”

The response did not answer additional questions from the Las Cruces Bulletin, including:

• What was the call the officer was dispatched out to?
• What was the circumstance that led to the shooting?
• What was the breed of the dog?
• Why did LCPD decline to release information about this officer-involved shooting until a media inquiry?

The Bulletin continued to seek answers to these questions, but only received a partial response by the end of business Wednesday, when Guss texted a reporter: “The circumstance was an aggressive dog. The dog appeared to be a Pit bull.”

The reporter then asked: “Why did LCPD decline to release information about this officer-involved shooting until a media inquiry?” Typically, the city notifies the public of such incidents through news releases or press conferences.

Despite the questions left unaddressed, Guss replied, “We did not decline to release information. All information requested has been provided.”