With shouts of “We’re showing our teeth,” more than 100 animal rights activists gathered at Westlake City Hall March 10 to protest the shooting by a police officer of a pet dog four days earlier. Many called for the officer to be fired.

Police were responding to a burglary alarm at a Glenbrook Lane home around 4:30 p.m. March 6. According to police, Patrolman Mark Morales found an open door at the back of the house where he encountered three dogs. Two dogs charged at the officer, according to police.

“One of the dogs executed a full aggressive charge at one of the officers, presenting an imminent threat of physical harm,” the police report stated. The dog, a yellow labrador named Callaway, was shot once by the officer and had to be later euthanized at West Park Animal Hospital.

Westlake Police said an investigation of the incident is underway.

Stephen Cooke, owner of Callaway; TV weatherman Dick Goddard; and animal rights activist Karen Fike speak before reporters and cameras at the March 10 protest at Westlake City Hall.

Protesters passed out yellow flowers in honor of the yellow labrador.

Karen Fike, an animal rights activist and organizer of the protest, said the main goal was to honor Callaway.

She also said she wanted “to finally get the city of Westlake to recognize our animals are not property.”

Fike, a Westlake resident, has criticized city leaders for not instituting a “trap, neuter and return” policy on feral cats, one she says is more humane. Police said the city’s policy of placing captured cats up for adoption works well and few have to be euthanized. The “trap, neuter and return” police would violate municipal law prohibiting animals from roaming the streets, council members countered.

Nevertheless, Fike said the March 10 protest was motivated 90 percent by Saturday’s shooting of Callaway the labrador. “We don’t want him dying in vain,” Fike said.

Fike called for Morales to be fired.

“He should have thought before he fired,” she said. “He can’t get away with it. You can’t have a cop that can so easily pull his gun out like he did.”

FOX8 weatherman Dick Goddard, who spoke at the protest, said he has been a supporter of police causes for many years. “I’m on the side of the police,” Goddard told West Life. But he called Morales “a disgrace to the force.”

“I want to find out — is this just bad judgment of stupidity on the part of Mark Morales?” Goddard asked. “He had options other than blowing the brains out of this dog,” Goddard said. “That’s what really gets to me.”

Callaway’s owner, Stephen Cooke, told West Life he could not find any reason to give Morales any benefit of the doubt. The Westlake dentist has said the officer had other options besides shooting the dog. Cooke said he has not made any comment on whether Morales should be fired or otherwise disciplined.

Cooke said there has been no determination on whether he will seek any legal action against the city.

According to police, the dogs may have somehow opened a garage door, setting off the alarm. Police received six false alarms from the Cooke house in 2009.

Cooke said there were no problems when police responded to false alarms in the past.

“This event was just completely different than it was in the past,” Cooke said.

“The Westlake Police are not the problem,” Cooke told protesters and reporters. “I think we have a problem possibly with some training issues. We have a problem with some judgments.”

Rudy, 6, a yellow Labrador, attended the protest with his owner, John Raff, of Rocky River. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

A man who identified himself only as Jeff from Westlake then began arguing with protesters, saying the officer was justified in defending himself. Protesters began shouting him down, some yelling obscenities.

Police Chief Richard Walling then emerged from City Hall in an attempt to keep order and asked “Jeff” to leave City Hall grounds.

“I’m supporting the officer 100 percent on this,” Jeff told reporters. “The man (Cooke) was irresponsible. He should have had his dogs secured. And I think the Westlake Police Department should send him a bill for the bullet.”

The police chief told reporters Morales suspected a burglary was in progress when he heard dogs barking and saw an open door at the rear of the property.

“He was pulling his gun out at that point,” Walling said. “The dogs start coming around from a blind spot. The one dog starts coming out. It’s barking, it’s growling at him. He’s backing up at this point. The other dog comes out, more aggressively, a full trot, toward him in an aggressive manner.”

According to Walling, it took place so fast all Morales could do at that point was yell “stop” at the dog.

“He said the dog didn’t stop,” Walling continued. “He said the dog was basically on top of him. He fired to stop the dog.”

When asked why the officer didn’t use a taser, Walling said it’s not police practice to hold a gun and taser in each hand.

At least a dozen protesters brought their dogs to City Hall.

Kathleen Kossman of Brecksville came with Ravi, a shepherd-collie mix.

“I’m a big animal advocate,” Kossman told West Life, “and I think we have to learn to treat animals with respect.”

Kossman said she was unable to give Morales any benefit of the doubt about what happened.

“I believe he made a poor choice,” she said.

Some protesters who said they had come mainly to support the Cooke family expressed their disapproval of some of the angrier rhetoric used by a few protesters.

Westlake resident Lynda Bell, who brought her Yorkie Sophie to the protest, said she’s generally happy with the city government. She was one of the few who seemed to reserve judgment on the officer’s actions.

“We can’t possibly know the situation the officer was in,” Bell told West Life. “But I think it was a little excessive.”

Bell related an experience where two labradors owned by a friend once charged her and Sophie.

“It terrified me,” she said. “I’m not sure I ever would have shot one of them. But it did scare me.”

The protest, which began at 3 p.m., largely broke up after about 50 minutes.

Previous West Life article:

• Police fatally shoot pet dog (March 10, 2010)