Off-duty police officer fatally shoots dog held by neighbor, prompting lawsuit, investigation

Video released Tuesday shows an off-duty Chicago police officer shooting and killing her Bridgeport neighbor’s dog at point-blank range last month as the neighbor held the animal right after a skirmish with the officer’s corgi.On the morning of April 21, Officer Carmen Mostek was walking her dog on a leash when her 68-year-old neighbor’s mixed-breed dog slipped out the front door and got into a fight with the corgi at 29th Street and Normal Avenue, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and a federal lawsuit the neighbor filed against the officer.Video from a neighbor’s security camera shows Mostek reaching for her firearm and not attempting to break the dogs apart as Kent Maynard runs to separate them. Maynard pulls his pet off the corgi, then falls to the ground while holding the pit bull as Mostek fires one shot, fatally striking Maynard’s dog.Mostek’s corgi was not injured in the incident. She is seen running home with her dog after the shooting.COPA is asking the police department to strip Mostek of her policing powers, noting in its report that Maynard’s head was “inches away” from the gunshot.“This action raises concerns about Officer Mostek’s ability to make sound, risk-averse decisions concerning the use of deadly force as a last resort,” COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten wrote. “Her decision-making in situations involving force could potentially endanger herself, members of the public and other CPD officers by exposing them to unnecessary risks and harm.”After the shooting, Maynard can be heard on the video screaming, “You shot my dog!” and “She could’ve [expletive] shot me!” A police report contradicts the incident shown on video, saying Mostek “attempted to get the pit bull off of her dog ... with negative results,” and that Maynard “attempted to help with negative results,” leading Mostek to fire her weapon.In an interview with police, Mostek said Maynard’s dog “tried to kill” her dog, so she had to shoot, according to the COPA report.Chicago police would not comment on the case or Mostek’s employment status, referring questions to COPA.The lawsuit also says responding officers failed to interview Maynard or any witnesses and interviewed only Mostek. The police report says Maynard refused to give officers his information.Maynard collected information from witnesses and contacted COPA investigators about the shooting, according to the lawsuit.In the days after the shooting, neighbors sent an outpouring of condolences to Maynard and created a memorial on a sidewalk that consisted of his dog’s collar, dog toys, a photo, flowers and candles, according to the lawsuit, which also names the city and the Chicago Police Department as defendants.“We are sorry for the loss of your beloved pet,” one note read. “We loved to see her with you! She will be missed.”The memorial was dismantled within two days, and many of the items were found in a garbage can behind Mostek’s apartment. Community members created a second memorial, but that also was taken down and its items were found in the same garbage can, the lawsuit says.Two memorials created by neighbors of Kent Maynard for his pit bull mixed-breed dog, Aggie, who was fatally shot by an off-duty Chicago police officer in April.ProvidedA week after the shooting, Maynard’s landlord informed him that he had two weeks to move out of his apartment based on “defamatory statements” made by Mostek, the lawsuit claims.