SAN ANTONIO – Trey and Saybra Sekula are seeking justice after a San Antonio police officer shot and killed their dogs in their yard.
The incident happened Oct. 27 on the Northwest Side, and one of the dogs killed was a service animal.
“[Saybra] goes to open the door, and I hear a gunshot, and I immediately bolt to the back door to find both of our dogs dying on the back porch,” Trey Sekula said.
Trey and his wife, Saybra, were home on Sunday when an SAPD officer pulled into their driveway. According to a police report, the officer was responding to a 911 call for help.
Before opening the door, it would be the last time they’d see their two dogs.
“He killed a service animal, a registered service animal,” Trey said.
The police report said an SAPD officer knocked on the family’s front door. The report continues to say that “he entered the property knocking on the front door with no response.” “He then went to the right of the location finding a rear door,” and that “he heard screaming and cursing but wasn’t able to know who or what exactly was being said.”
KSAT obtained a video of the incident. In the video, it appears the officer’s gun is already in his hand before the dogs are ever seen. Multiple shots can be heard as Saybra and her husband come out of the home screaming and seeing their dogs being shot.
“I said, ‘Stop it, stop it. Stop it. Stop. Stop it.’ And he shot her in the head,” Saybra said.
Police said the officer who shot the two dogs “feared for his safety.” When KSAT asked SAPD if the officer was placed on “any kind of leave,” they said no. SAPD Internal Affairs is investigating the incident.
“I want him to see justice. It’s a third-degree felony,” Saybra said. “He should be charged as a civilian, you know, just like anyone else would. She was a service dog.”
“I certainly hope that this man does not have a firearm,” Trey said. “You know, it’s the very bare minimum.”
Despite the dogs only running out after Saybra answered the door for the officer, the family was cited by the City of San Antonio for “two canines who were found to be free of restraint.”
“They’re family, and they were both taken immediately from us without even a chance,” Trey said. “There was deadly force used when there should never have been deadly force used.”
This is also not the first time an SAPD officer shot and killed more than one dog. In September, an off-duty SAPD officer shot three dogs, killing two of them. One of the dogs this officer shot and killed was the officer’s K-9.
KSAT has requested the officer’s body camera video and additional information related to the Oct. 27 case and will provide an update when we have those details.