WACO, Texas — A Waco family and community are left outraged after a dog was killed when the Waco Police Department responded to a burglary call at the wrong address.
According to a news release posted on Facebook, a resident called police on Saturday, June 3, at 3:17 p.m. and said her house was being burglarized.
Waco PD said dispatch entered "3204 N. 20th A St." into their system, but then it reportedly autocorrected to "3204 N. 20th St.," which is where officers responded to.
Cassandra Page and her boyfriend Matt Vasquez live at the home at 3204 N. 20th St. Vasquez says ever since someone began living at 3204 N. A 20th St., they have been dealing with mail and packages being sent to the wrong address.
"I knew that once someone was there, it was just going to be a major mail annoyance," Vasquez explained. "I didn't think it would escalate to this."
According to police, when they arrived at their home, they saw the backdoor ajar and that it corroborated information received in the initial call.
Page says they leave their back door open for their five dogs and three cats to move in and out of the home freely.
Waco PD went on to explain in the news release that when they entered the home and announced their presence, multiple dogs came toward officers, who then retreated.
The news release continues that one dog "acted more aggressively" and lunged at an officer twice. During the second time, that's when the officer shot the dog, identified as Finn, police said.
Vasquez said acting aggressive is the last thing Finn, a 10-year-old black Labrador Retriever, would do.
"Our dogs will rush up to people just to say hi and figure out who the person is," Vasquez explained.
After Finn was shot and their other dog Hannah was tased, Page says Waco PD did absolutely nothing to help Finn.
"I pulled him to the car and none of them helped me," Page said. "None of them even said anything, they never moved. They just watched me the whole time run around like I was crazy."
At the time this article was published, it remained unclear why one dog was shot and the other dog was tased.
6 News reached out to Waco PD for an in-person interview, the department declined. Instead, they referred to their news release for a statement:
"We are regretful of the outcome regarding our response that resulted in the death of Finn," Waco PD said.
"We will work diligently to confirm the address entered into our Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system is accurate and precise," Waco PD said. "We are engaging the CAD system manufacturer to ensure that steps are taken to prevent any similar occurrence. Additionally, dispatchers will be directed to evaluate any address that occurs on any of the streets that have an adjacent 'A' street."
Both Page, Vasquez and the rest of their pets they consider family are now left to adjust to life without Finn.
"It be so hard for us every day. The first time we fed the dogs without Finn, we all just broke down crying. Everything was in fives and we don't have that anymore," Page said.
Page and Vasquez plan to take legal action against the city and the police department for their negligence.
A GoFundMe fundraiser was created in response to this incident by a friend Tori Russell to raise money for an attorney.