'All he did was love me': Heartbreaking moment police shoot and kill dog that was defending owner when officers arrested him for FILMING them

• Leon Rosby, 52, was walking his dog and video-tapping a police scene when he was arrested for obstruction of justice
• He locked his dog in the car with the windows rolled down, and while being arrested the dog escaped
• A police officer shot the dog when it ran over to his owner
• Rosby is now in the process of filing a suit against the police department for killing his dog

A video posted yesterday on YouTube shows the grisly shooting of a dog by a police officer in Hawthorne, California.

The 130-pound, 3-year-old Rottweiler named Max was shot to death after he escaped through a window in a parked car and ran over to his master, Leon Rosby, who was being arrested for filming the scene on his phone. 

The video (watch original on YouTube) shows Rosby, 52, walking his dog Sunday around 7 p.m. near a house with several police squad cars parked outside. 

Scroll down for video... (Warning: Graphic Content)

Dog shot by police: A Rottweiler was shot by a police officer in Hawthorne, California when he jumped out of a car and ran towards his owner, who was being arrested

 

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Moment police shoot dog dead as it runs...

He is seen filming the scene in order 'to make sure nobody's civil rights were being violated,' he told DailyBreeze.com.

Rosby is then seen talking to a pair of police officers in the distance. 

Hawthorne Police Lt Scott Swain said that officers were warning Rosby to turn down the music in his car.

'It's distracting the officers. It's interfering with what they are able to hear,' Lt Swain said. 'It's not just a party call. It's an armed robbery call. The officers need to hear what's going on with the people being called out of the residence. That music in his car is bleeding over and it's distracting them.'

A neighbor who witnessed the event said they heard Rosby yell 'It's my (expletive) radio!' to officers.

But Rosby said that didn't happen because as a Christian he doesn't swear.

'I do apologize if I didn't immediately comply,' Rosby said. 'The music may have been a little loud but I was complying.'

Watchdog: Rosby was out walking his dog when he came across a police scene and started taking video to make sure civil liberties weren't being

Noise complaint: A Hawthorne Police spokesman said that officers were telling Rosby to turn down his music, which was distracting for those trying to work on the scene

Leaving: Police are seen approaching Rosby as he puts Max in the car, where the windows are rolled down

VIDEO

Eventually the two officers start walking towards Rosby, who puts Max into his car where the windows are rolled down. Rosby seems to calmly walk over to the officers and turn around, volunteering himself for arrest.

As the officers put handcuffs on Rosby, the dog starts barking and manages to jump out of the car. Another police officer comes over and looks like he's trying to grab the leash when the dog jumps up and the officer shoots him several times.

Turning himself in: Rosby walks over to the officers, turns around, and allows them to handcuff him

Escape: Max beings to bark as his owner is walked towards the squad cars, and he manages to squeeze out the windows

Attack? Another officer comes over and seems to reach for the dog's leash when Max jumps - that's when the shooting starts

Dead: The officer continues to shoot the dog several times. A police spokesman says they were protecting Rosby too

'He literally killed my puppy I had since he was 6 weeks old,' Rosby said.

In the video, Rosby is noticeably upset.

'I was crying and hollering, "My dog! Max! Max!"'

Rosby doesn't understand why police didn't let him go to properly secure his dog, or why they continued to arrest him after he put the dog in the car - a sign that he was leaving.

'There was no way Max should have died like that,' Rosby said. 'Max was only protecting his master. He was trying to stop them from beating on me.'

'All he did was love me,' he added.

Lt Swain, however, alleges that the officers were also looking out for Rosby.

'I know it's the dog's master, and more than likely not going to attack him, (but) we've got a guy handcuffed that's kind of defenseless. We have a duty to defend him too,' Swain said.

Rosby was held overnight in jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and released at 5 AM the next day.

Rosby says that police would not return his dog's body to him.

His attorney Michael Gulden says that Rosby is planning on filing a lawsuit against the Hawthorne Police Department.

Dog shot: Rosby's lawyer says they are planning on filing a suit against the police department for the dog's killing

Apparently this isn't the first time that Rosby has had issues with the local police. His prior record includes convictions for resisting arrest, battery and driving under the influence. Rosby, a black man, has filed six complaints alleging mistreatment and racial profiling by the Hawthorn Police.

'There's been a pattern of harassment against him and other African-Americans in Hawthorne. Last July, the police responded to his home and beat him unnecessarily, then threw him in jail for no reason. We sued for that. We'll amend that complaint to include the dog incident,' Gulden said.

As of Monday night, the video had 510 views and almost 400 comments.