Chicago man says accountability has been lacking after off-duty CPD officer shot, killed his dog
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Bridgeport neighborhood man's dog was shot and killed by an off-duty Chicago Police officer last year, and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said the Chicago Police Department should rethink the officer's employment after surveillance videos revealed what really happened.
Speaking to CBS News Chicago for the first time, the dog's owner, Kent Maynard, said there has been no accountability in the months since. He also said his case was treated differently from the start.
Maynard said the case was essentially a "one-interview investigation." He said that despite video evidence and eyewitnesses being present on the scene, the initial report and investigation by police were heavily biased in favor of their coworker.
The official statement from the CPD said Maynard's dog, Aggie, got loose in the 500 block of West 29th Street on April 21, 2024, and started attacking off-duty Chicago Police officer Carmen Mostek's corgi.
"And then I hear this incredibly loud bang, and I smell gunpowder," Maynard said.
Chicago Police said Mostek was left with no option but to shoot and kill Aggie to stop the attack.
"The neighbor couldn't control it at all," Mostek was heard saying on bodycam, "and I had to shoot the dog." Speaking to an on-duty officer, Mostek was heard describing the neighbor as "close."
But both surveillance videos released by COPA later showed that Kent Maynard wasn't just "close." He was holding Aggie when the dog was shot.
It all happened within eight seconds.
The dogs were seen fighting, and Maynard ran out and fell to the ground as he grabbed a hold of Aggie. Mostek then took a step back and fired — hitting Aggie in the ear, which was just inches from Maynard's own face.
"It was obvious then that she was stone cold dead right away," Maynard said. "'I almost killed a human being to protect my corgi?' I mean, no civilian would have that right, so why should she?"
The CPD said Maynard, who was clearly distressed, was uncooperative after the shooting. But the body camera video shows he and others tried to give their side of the story to police.
"It happened after I'd gotten the dog, and while I was literally on top of the dog," Maynard was heard saying on bodycam.
COPA agreed with the seriousness of this situation based on the surveillance videos — and recommended Mostek's employment be evaluated back in May 2024.
"What this has shown is a terrible lack of judgment — and a lack of training, actually," said James Benak, Maynard's attorney, "and what we've seen since then is a lack of accountability and a lack of responsibility."
But nearly eight months later, it remained still unclear if Mostek faced any discipline.
On Wednesday, the Chicago Police Department would only confirm Officer Mostek remained an active member of the department assigned to the Vice Unit.
"We'd like to see them step up and take responsibility," Benak said.
The attorney also claimed the city has also been dragging its feet in a federal lawsuit filed in May.
"I am very upset about the notion that this woman still has the authority to carry a sidearm and exercise potentially lethal force, given what I've seen," Maynard said, "and I see the way everyone sort of automatically fell into the blue-wall code of silence."
COPA's report said acknowledged that Mostek "fired one shot at the dog as the owner was regaining control." No citations were ever filed in this case.
