A Memphis police officer was injured by "friendly fire" while executing a search warrant at a home in Nutbush Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Officer Calvin Taylor and other members of the Organized Crime Unit had just gained entry to a home in the 4000 block of Berkshire about 3:30 p.m. when three dogs, described as pit bulls, charged one of the officers, according to a police statement.
The officer fired his shotgun multiple times into the group of dogs, killing two of them and accidentally wounding Taylor in the leg. Ambulances brought Taylor to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, where he was listed in non-critical condition.
Taylor, 44, who has been with MPD since August 1998, is the second OCU officer in recent months to be hit by friendly fire while executing a search warrant.
In November, 32-year-old Willie Bryant was accidentally shot in the back by an officer who was also being charged by an aggressive dog.
This shooting also follows the December death of Officer Martoiya Lang, who was shot to death by a suspect while executing a search warrant. On Dec. 14, Lang and other members of the Organized Crime Unit burst into a Berclair home on Mendenhall Cove, searching for illegal drugs.
Copyright 2013 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
