Credit: Screengrab via HCSO/YouTube

Credit: Screengrab via HCSO/YouTube

A video released today by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office shows a dog biting at the ankles of several police horses moments before it was shot and killed at Saturday’s Gasparilla parade in downtown Tampa.

The video, which HCSO says was recorded from a nearby surveillance camera, seems to back the Sheriff's Office’s previous statements regarding the incident, and shows the 70-pound pit bull charging at a herd of about 8 law enforcement horses and biting at least one—a 16-year-old horse named Romeo—in the leg. 

However, the video does not show the moment Deputy Crystal McClelland, who was riding another horse, shot the dog in the back. 

The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. outside the 345 Bayshore Condominiums.

HCSO says that while no horses were seriously injured, the pit bull's owner, a homeless man, made zero effort to control his pet dog. The man was later arrested and Baker Act-ed after deputies say he made threatening statements.

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Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent...