Police officer, looking for suspect, shoots dog inside church's housing shelter

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – A police officer in New Jersey shot and wounded a dog inside a transitional housing shelter at a church here Wednesday, an incident that has left religious leaders questioning police practices.

About 5 p.m. Wednesday, Lakewood police officers went to the shelter at All Saints Episcopal Church to find a man wanted in a neighboring town for violating a restraining order and stalking, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

While there, an officer "encountered an aggressive pit bull that ran towards the officer," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. The Lakewood officer, who was not identified, shot the dog, which is expected to recover. No arrests were made. 

Bella, the brown-and-white pit bull mix, belongs to a resident of Samaritan House, the shelter that operates in the basement of All Saints.

The dog, not yet 2 years old, was shot once in the leg by the officer, who fired two rounds and did not show a warrant to be at the private facility, said Steve Welch, a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, which includes 144 churches and All Saints. One resident reported the officer pursued the dog before shooting it, Welch said.

The diocese is questioning the police response, which Welch said was out of line with past practice and ruptured a sense of security at the shelter.

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The diocese issued a statement Thursday expressing "deep concern and sadness over this incident." Previously, when police needed to serve warrants at the shelter, officers notified staff who then helped get the individual outside to police, Welch said.

"One of the questions that needs to be answered is why police apparently did not follow this procedure in this case," a statement from the diocese reads. "The diocese has contacted the Lakewood Police Chief with the hope of beginning this process."

Welch said he spoke to several residents and Samaritan House director Alex Gotay after the incident.

"They were upset," Welch said. "Concerned for the dog, concerned for themselves and concerned for kind of the sanctity of their home."

Samaritan House offers transitional housing for eight homeless individuals and has helped more than 200 men get off the streets since opening in 2014.

"We don’t think that anybody acted out of malice," Welch said. "It was a misunderstanding and mishandling of how things went. Our main thing is we move on from this going forward and keep everybody safe and secure."

Follow Stacey Barchenger on Twitter: @sbarchenger