Pender County man sues sheriff’s office for shooting dog

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — A Burgaw man is suing the Pender County Sheriff’s Office after a deputy shot and killed his dog last summer.

A few years ago, Burgaw resident Bruce Benson, a retired veteran, was looking for an emotional support dog after going through a divorce. It was during that search that he found Astro.

“I found Astro at a local shelter and went down and met him and played with him and we hit it right off,” Benson said.

Soon after finding one another the two became inseparable.

“He was my shadow constantly,” Benson said. “He slept in the bed with me, sat in my lap to watch the news at night.”

On August 15, 2020 Pender County Sheriff’s deputies paid a visit to Benson’s home on Wolfe Run Road to conduct a welfare check after he hadn’t shown up to a church work day event. As he was talking to one of the deputies, Astro got out the front door and ran toward two deputies in the driveway.

“He had not been out the door 10 seconds when I heard a loud bang, obviously a pistol shot,” Benson said.

The Pender County Sheriff’s Office says the dog was approaching the deputies growling and showing his teeth. One deputy jumped into the bed of Benson’s pickup truck, and the other shot Astro as he got within one foot of him.

“I ran over to the carport and there was Astro laying on the car port in a puddle of brains and blood,” Benson said.

He says the next month was a blur as he descended into depression.

“In the evenings when Astro and I would normally get something to eat and watch the news, I would just numb myself with alcohol.”

10 days after the incident, Sheriff Alan Cutler released the following statement:

“THIS IS A VERY UNFORTUNATE SITUATION THAT HAS UNDERSTANDABLY IMPACTED MR. BENSON, THE DEPUTIES WHO WERE THERE, AND HAS CAUSED A LOT OF CONCERN WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.

THE INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MATTER REVEALED THAT THAT THE BREED OF DOG, A DUTCH SHEPARD AND BELGIAN MALINOIS MIX IS A BREED THAT BY NATURE IS VERY PROTECTIVE OF HIS HOME TURF AND PROTECTIVE OF HIS OWNER. NEIGHBORS INDICATED THAT THE DOG COULD BE AGGRESSIVE WITH NEW-COMERS TO THE PROPERTY WITH WHOM THE DOG WAS NOT FAMILIAR. AT LEAST ONE NEIGHBOR HAD REPORTED A PAST INSTANCE WHERE THE DOG RAN TOWARD CHILDREN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN AN AGGRESSIVE MANNER.

I HATE THAT THIS EVENT ENDED THE WAY THAT IT DID BUT, I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE DEPUTY TOOK THE ACTION NECESSARY TO PROTECT HIMSELF FROM IMMINENT HARM.

IN CLOSING, I WOULD ASK THAT ANYONE HAVING PETS, PLEASE SECURE YOUR ANIMALS IF ANY TYPE OF FIRST RESPONDER APPROACHES YOUR HOME. WHILE WE CANNOT CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF THIS CASE, I DO WANT TO DO EVERYTHING WITHIN MY POWER TO HELP REDUCE 0CHANCES OF THIS TYPE OF EVENT RE-OCCURING.”

Benson felt this response was callous.

“He put the blame back on me for having such a vicious dog who had never bitten anybody and played with three and four-year-old children out in the front yard,” Benson said.

Since then Benson has sought help from his church family and a counselor. He has a new rescue dog named Maggie.

He’s also suing the Pender County Sheriff’s Office for damages.

“It’s not about the money, I can’t get Astro back, he can’t be replaced,” Benson said.

He hopes that by going to trial law enforcement will be forced to change their protocol when dealing with pets, so others don’t have to suffer a similar tragedy.

“Something needs to change,” Benson said. “They need more supervision, more training, more non-lethal equipment.”

WWAY reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment and were referred to the county’s attorney. We contacted him this afternoon but have not yet received a response.

Click here to view a draft of the lawsuit.