Family demands answers after they say Miami police shot and killed their dog

A family is looking for answers after they say a Miami police officer shot and killed their dog at a public park in April.

The incident, which happened April 12 at Sewell Park on South River Drive, is now the subject of an internal police investigation.

Nicole Iyescas said she was having fun at the park with her one-year-old dog, Miso.

“26 pounds,” she said. "It was a puppy.”

Nicole told NBC6 Investigates she was sitting on a park bench with Miso on a leash when a man walked close to where they were sitting. Nicole and her daughter Esmeralda said Miso, a French bulldog-Malinois mix, began barking and Nicole lost her grip on the leash.

“He approached the man and the man got startled as well,” Esmeralda explained. 

Nicole said the man fell backward and landed at the base of a large tree. 

“I didn’t see Miso biting the guy,” she said. “When he got up, he saw something on his upper arm and he said, ‘Your dog bit me.’”

She said the man told her he was calling animal control.

“Seemed like there was some sort of an altercation with the animal and the gentleman was on his phone,” explained a witness who asked not to be identified. He said he was passing by at the time. 

“It was very calm,” he said. “The dog was on a leash, everything was under control.”

Miami Fire Rescue said they took a 27-year-old man to the hospital who said he was bit by a dog and had an injury on his left arm.

Nicole and her daughter said things took a turn when Miami Police officers arrived at the scene.

“The police officer wasn’t giving my mom the chance to speak or even to listen or give her own statement,” Esmeralda said. 

She said the officer ordered her mom to sit on another bench with the dog.

“The whole scene ended up getting very tense,” Esmeralda said. 

Nicole said one officer ordered her not to move and to stay where she was.

“But there is a way to talk to someone instead of the way he was talking to me and yelling at me," she added. 

According to Nicole, as the officer was giving her those commands, Miso got agitated. She said she lost the leash and the dog started barking and approached one of the officers. She said the officer kicked Miso in the head, but then lost his balance and fell in the process.

She said Miso then moved on to a grassy area near the parking lot, several feet from the nearest officer.

“I heard a gunshot. My gosh,” she said. “And then I saw my dog falling on the floor.”

“I saw the dog was lying on its side,” the witness said. “It had been shot.”

The man said he didn’t see the moment Miso was shot, but he approached officers as the dog lay bleeding, but still alive.

“I did mention to more than one officer that maybe they should call somebody who would either euthanize the animal or attend to the animal,” he said.

“They left him suffering,” Nicole said. “He was breathing, bleeding.”

Nicole said officers kept her from getting close to her dog after the shooting and didn’t want to discuss why the officer opened fire.

A one-page police report has limited details about what happened. It only states officers went to Sewell Park regarding a dog bite complaint: “There was one gunshot fired” and “one dog dead on scene.'' 

“For me, it was like, how did we go from dog on leash to dog dead?” the witness asked.

That question and others could potentially be addressed by video from police body cameras. The department denied NBC6’s request for the video and declined to answer questions about the incident, citing an ongoing internal affairs investigation.

Nicole has since filed a complaint with Miami Police.

“They made my life very difficult that day,” she said.

“I guess it’s a really unfortunate incident and I hope the truth comes out,” the witness added.

A source in the department who did not want to be identified by name said officers are not trained to render aid to animals.