The intersection of Green and Harris streets in Midtown, where a Dauphin County parole officer shot a neighbor’s unleashed dog last Thursday night.
For the second time in two months, a Dauphin County parole officer has shot an unleashed dog on his street in Midtown Harrisburg, prompting concerns from some neighbors over what they say is an unnecessary use of firearms on their residential block.
Bradley G. Smith, of the 1500-block of Green Street, shot and wounded a dog that was off its leash and acting aggressively around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night, near the corner of Green and Harris streets, where Smith was out walking his own dog.
Police, who did not name Smith in an initial description of the incident, said that three individuals had been standing on the corner when they “observed someone walking west with a dog that appeared not to be leashed.”
Sgt. Gabriel Olivera said the individuals called out at least twice for the owner to leash the dog, but both times the request was ignored. One of the individuals on the corner had one dog on a leash, while another had three dogs, all on leashes, he said.
The unleashed dog then charged and, some time after that, he said, “One of these individuals feared for the safety of the adults and the dogs and fired one round striking the dog.”
Smith was involved in a similar incident late on the evening of June 10, when a pit bull leapt from a vehicle as its owner was parking.
The dog ran towards Smith’s dog and “began to bite at it,” Olivera said, at which point Smith, whom Olivera did not name in his description, “feared for the safety of his dog and fired at the dog with his legally owned firearm.”
The pit bull then ran to its home across the street, where it died.
In addition to not initially naming Smith or any other individuals, police did not initially indicate the same individual was involved in both shootings. TheBurg learned about Smith’s involvement in both incidents through interviews with neighbors. Olivera later confirmed his involvement.
Police said they have investigated both incidents and found Smith’s use of a firearm to be justified. “In both incidents the dogs were not on leashes and ran towards him and his dog in aggressive manners,” Olivera said.
Nonetheless, the shootings have upset some neighbors. Jay Bowser, who lives on the block and whose young daughter often plays outside on the street, was disturbed that Smith had chosen to fire a weapon.
“I don’t think it’s acceptable,” he said. “There’s plenty of things you can do to break up two dogs before you shoot.”
Bowser has since organized a town hall-style meeting to discuss the incidents. The event is planned for Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. at Zeroday Brewing Company, a neighborhood brewery.
The city has an ordinance forbidding the discharge of weapons on city streets, but officials have repeatedly said the ordinance does not apply in self-defense cases.
The anti-discharge ordinance is one of several local firearms regulations currently being challenged in county and federal courts. In February, Dauphin County Judge Andrew Dowling preliminarily barred the city from enforcing three of its gun ordinances, though his ruling left the anti-discharge ordinance in place.
Smith is a parole officer with Dauphin County and has owned his Green Street residence since 1990. He did not return voicemails left on his office phone Tuesday and Wednesday.
