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Florida cop shoots and kills dog in front of owner

FLORIDA CITY. Fla. - A Florida police officer shot and killed a dog outside its owner's home Tuesday morning, reports CBS Miami

The Florida City Police Department says Officer Marcus Terry noticed a car door open in Gillian Palacios' driveway, and knocked on Palacios' front door to make sure there hadn't been a theft.

When the door opened, Palacios' two-year-old bully breed mix Duchess ran out. Surveillance video shows the door running toward Terry, as the officer backpedaled.

He fired three shots, killing the 40-pound dog.

"She was excited. Someone's at the door. She's excited to see who it is, you know, normal dog behavior," said Palacios. Her daughter, Sage Raphael, said she tried to stop the dog from running out the door.

"I was about to grab her. I had her and two seconds later, it's three gunshots," said Raphael.

Florida City Police Department public information officer Ken Armenteros said Terry has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

"We don't have the luxury of hindsight," Armenteros told CBS Miami. "We have to use the information that is given to us in a split second so the officer has to make that decision with the information that he has available."

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