MOSES LAKE — The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office concluded a Grant County Sheriff’s deputy was justified in shooting a Moses Lake man’s pet, to defend a police dog.

The agency was asked to conduct an investigation of the Jan. 24 incident by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Earlier this year, Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Beau Lamens shot and killed a dog in Neppel Park after the dog and the K-9 Unit dog engaged in a fight.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office called in Chelan County to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. They were charged with the duty of re-interviewing witnesses, both police and civilians, to determine what happened and if it was necessary to shoot the civilian dog. Through interviews and the creation of diagrams, they were able to reconstruct the incident.

During the incident, Lamens was requested by the Moses Lake Police Department to bring Maddox, the K-9 Unit drug dog. The dog was requested as Moses Lake police were performing an arrest and drugs were suspected in a vehicle during a traffic stop next to the park.

At the same time, Nick Criscuolo, of Moses Lake, was in the park with his two dogs. Both the dogs were off their leashes.

Having unleashed dogs in a public park is a city code violation.

Once Maddox was brought out to begin drug detection, one of Criscuolo’s dogs, named Slyder, began to run away from his owner toward the drug dog. Criscuolo was able to grab the other dog to prevent it from running toward Maddox.

Maddox and Slyder engaged in a physical altercation.

“Lamens said he kicked the dog away twice and it returned,” explained Chelan County Sgt. Jeff Middleton. “His K-9 had slipped his collar. He thought the dog (Slyder) was returning for another attack. He decided to shoot at this point. I think his belief that the dog was returning for another attack is supported by the findings of this investigation.”

Lamens shot the dog three times.

In a previous interview with the Columbia Basin Herald, Criscuolo said he was close enough to Slyder to place his collar on him just before the shooting. He explained he believed he could have prevented further attack between the dogs.

“Despite rumors that Criscuolo had moved into or near the line of fire, that is not supported by any witness, including Criscuolo,” explained Middleton. “There was nothing between Lamens and the animal. There was nothing vulnerable behind the animal. Behind the animal (was) grass, a walkway and the lake.”

The determination was made after Chelan County detectives re-interviewed all witnesses. All witnesses including police and civilians, except for two people, were taken back to the park to diagram the incident.

“There is only one area that is given as a different interpretation by the officers and the civilian witnesses; that is the necessity of shooting the animal,” explained Middleton. “All civilians say it was not necessary and all the officers say it was. There was one person there who fits neither category.”

The individual who does not fit either category is the man who was arrested during the traffic stop requiring the need for the drug dog. He was sitting in the rear of a patrol car with a clear view of the shooting.

“He might be expected to speak out against the officers who were arresting him but instead, he said he felt the shooting was necessary,” Middleton stated.