A cop in Kansas opened fire on a barking dog directly in front of a 9-year-old girl, sending bullet fragments into her face, dramatic police bodycam video shows.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett released footage Thursday showing former Wichita police officer Dexter Betts firing two shots at the girl’s family’s dog — an English bull terrier named Chevy — on Dec. 30. Police responded to the home after the girl’s mother said her husband put a gun to his mouth, the Wichita Eagle reports.
The gunfire was recorded in more than 6 minutes of footage released to the newspaper showing Betts and another officer talking to children in the living room of the family’s home.
“Hey, it’s OK, what’s going on?” Betts asks as children can be heard crying inside the darkened home.
The officer then quickly scans the residence, using a flashlight to illuminate a darkened hall. He then returns to the living room while acknowledging that there’s also an animal inside the home.
“OK, we got a dog inside here, too,” Betts said. “Whoa, whoa!”
The dog, perhaps startled by Betts’ excitement and the officer’s flashlight, barks at the officer as the girl sits on the floor directly behind the animal. Betts then fires twice, and the girl was struck above her eye when bullet fragments ricocheted off the concrete floor beneath the carpet, according to the Wichita Eagle, which published 54 seconds of the video after Bennett released it. Parts of the footage were shown during a court hearing last week.
Dexter BettsSedgwick County Jail“Ow, ow, ow, you hurt my eye!” the girl screams on the video. “Ow, ow, ow, my eye!”
Betts is heard in the footage telling the other children in the room to leave.
City officials in Wichita had previously refused to provide a copy of the video to the Wichita Eagle, saying it wasn’t required by law and violated the girl’s privacy. But evidence shown in court becomes public record even if it hasn’t been previously released.
Betts was ordered held for trial after pleading not guilty to a felony aggravated battery charge during his preliminary hearing last week. He was fired by the department less than a month after the incident, in which both the girl and her dog escaped serious injury.
Betts later said on police radio that the dog “attacked” prior to the shooting. His attorney, Jess Hoeme, claimed during a hearing last week that the former cop acted appropriately by “acknowledging the danger” in the room and responding accordingly.
Bennett countered that Betts acted recklessly and with no regard for the girl’s life, since he was so close to her when he pulled the trigger in the darkened living room.
