28-04-2025
Thayer PD denies releasing body cam footage of officers killing dog
THAYER, Mo. – A Sunshine Law request for body camera footage related to a controversial recent police killing of a dog in Thayer has been denied.
However, based on the police department's response, it's unclear if the attorney for Thayer Police actually reviewed the body camera footage prior to denying Ozarks First Investigates' Sunshine Law request.
The response reads, 'Pursuant to 610.100.2(4), the requested record would be closed. I am basing that on the assumption that the video was recorded on private property (non-public location) and would contain images of a juvenile.'
Small town demands body cam footage after Thayer police officers kill dog
Ozarks First Investigates is working to learn if the department can confirm the video was filmed on private property and/or contains video footage of a minor.
If so, the video would only be releasable to the person depicted in the video, or their guardian or attorney:
610.100.2.(4) Except as provided in subsections 3 and 5 of this section, a mobile video recording that is recorded in a nonpublic location is authorized to be closed, except that any person who is depicted in the recording or whose voice is in the recording, a legal guardian or parent of such person if he or she is a minor, a family member of such person within the first degree of consanguinity if he or she is deceased or incompetent, an attorney for such person, or insurer of such person, upon written request, may obtain a complete, unaltered, and unedited copy of a recording under and pursuant to this section.
The denial comes as a growing number of people demand answers following the fatal shooting, which occurred on April 18 in response to an alleged dog attack on a child.
According to a press release from the Thayer Police Department, officers responded to a report of a dog bite involving a 5-year-old child around 3:23 p.m. that Friday. The child sustained injuries to the neck, prompting officers to call for an Oregon County Ambulance.
Police say the dog remained at large when officers arrived and later 'aggressively charged' them during the investigation. One officer was reportedly bitten before police opened fire, killing the animal.
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