Ryan Conrey had taken the family pet out for a walk when the collar broke. Conrey says the frolicking puppy, wanting to play, jumped up on a nearby woman. The dog did not bite the woman. The woman got a small scratch when she pushed the puppy down.

As Ryan and his friend, another 20 year old, ran after and tried to corner the playful puppy, police officer Cesar Luna of the West Wildwood police department arrived, drew his service weapon, and shot the puppy in the head, killing her. One boy was only within a few feet from the dog, reaching down to grab her, at the moment the officer fired the fatal shot. The boy was so close that he felt the spray of the blood when the bullet struck Phoenix. Both boys say that there was no justification to kill the puppy and that it was extremely lucky that the one boy was not also killed by the officer’s bullet.

The family and local townspeople are calling for an explanation of why the officer was so quick to draw his weapon and why he discharged his weapon so near to the boy. “The residents of this borough are upset that the police think they can shoot someone’s pet just because a leash broke, said Chantal Langlois.