Officer Faces Trial for Killing Puppy, as Heartbreaking Video Shows Grieving Owners: ‘Love of Our Lives’

A New Orleans police officer who shot and killed a puppy while responding to a noise complaint is on trial as a part of a federal civil lawsuit filed by the dog’s owner.

On April 10, 2021, New Orleans Police Officer Derrick Burmaster and his partner responded to a noise complaint at a home. When the officers tried to open the gate of the home, two dogs ran up to the officers, according to a civil complaint obtained by PEOPLE. 

Burmaster’s partner stepped back from the gate when the dogs approached them, but Burmaster allegedly took out his firearm and fired three rounds at the smaller dog of the two. The small dog was an 18-week-old rescue puppy named Apollo, according to the complaint. 

Per the complaint, Apollo, a Catahoula Leopard Dog, was so young that he hasn’t developed the ability to bark yet. He was just over 22 pounds and less than 18 inches tall. 

“Apollo was so small that Burmaster’s bullet passed right through him,” the complaint said.

The bullet entered through the back of Apollo’s neck and exited through his chest. According to an autopsy, the bullet broke two of Apollo’s ribs and damaged his lung, which was filled with blood.

Shrapnel from the shooting injured three of Apollo’s paws and caused an injury to Burmaster’s partner’s hand, per the complaint. 

According to the complaint, Apollo’s owners, Derek Brown and Julia Barecki-Brown stepped outside once they heard the gunshots and found their dog bleeding on the ground. 

“Oh my god, what did you do, what did you do,” Julia said, per police bodycam footage of the shooting obtained by the AP. “That’s a baby, that’s a puppy,” she continued through tears.

“I made kissy noises – to get, if there was a dog behind this fence,” Burmaster said in the bodycam footage. 

“How could you shoot a puppy?” Julia said.”This is the love of our lives.”

Derek held Apollo in his arms as he died from the gunshot wound. 

An internal investigation by the New Orleans Police Department found that Apollo did not pose a threat, called the shooting “unjustified” and that it violated department policies — but the department still cleared him of wrongdoing for his use of force, the AP reported.

New Orleans Independent Police Monitor Stella Cziment told the outlet she didn’t understand the department’s decision. 

“I don’t see how it aligns with policy; I don’t understand how he was exonerated and I disagree with that finding,” Cziment told the AP. 

According to the complaint, Burmaster shot and killed another dog in 2012 when he went to a home to investigate a property damage complaint. When he arrived at the scene, there were two dogs in the yard. When the person Burmaster was with said the animals scared her, he drew his weapon and fired twice, killing one of the dogs. 

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Investigators noted that Burmaster did not consider non-lethal options before shooting Apollo, such as using his taser. The complaint said he was in violation of department policy.

During opening arguments in his trial, Burmaster’s lawyer Corwin St. Raymond said that the officer made a “split-second” judgement call, per the AP, and “acted in accordance with his training.” St. Raymond told jurors that Burmaster’s reaction was “reasonable under the circumstances he faced.”