Man Accused of Threatening to Kill Pittsburgh K-9

A Homewood man firing his handgun into the air Christmas morning struggled with officers and threatened to kill their police dog before they subdued him, authorities say.

Pittsburgh police officers said in court documents that Shawn A. Seif, 39, seemed to be staging a home invasion in the 7500 block of Susquehanna Street when they responded to reports of a man shooting a gun shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday. The house door had been kicked in and .40 caliber shell casings littered the porch, police said.

Seif, however, owned the house, something the officers say he never told them. Instead, they say, Seif resisted being handcuffed and tried to move his left hand toward a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with a full magazine. Officers reported that they had to strike Seif's shoulders, ribs and face "in an attempt to stun him."

Once in custody, Seif demanded that the officers take off the cuffs so that he could harm them and then began to taunt a police dog by barking at it and rolling his body toward the animal, yelling "I'm gonna kill Fido. Just let that dog bite me and I will bite him back," according to court documents.

Searching the home, officers found several boxes of ammunition, a loaded magazine, Hydra-Shok hollowpoint ammunition and "marijuana in plain view on a shelf in the living room."

Seif is in Allegheny County Jail on a $10,000 straight bond. He is charged with taunting and tormenting a police animal, resisting arrest, terroristic threats and marijuana possession charges.

Copyright 2012 - The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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