Mayor Karen Bass is putting her foot down and demanding a full, transparent investigation into the LAPD after trigger-happy officers gunned down a Black woman’s dog in Canoga Park.
As pressure mounts on City Hall, Bass is facing major heat from local leaders and city council members who say this latest tragedy once again shatters the public’s trust. In a statement to the California Post, Bass said, “Every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and we know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever.”
As we previously reported, the horror went down this past weekend at the Jordan Avenue condominiums. Marie Marseille, a dedicated nurse originally from New York, was inside her apartment doing what millions of fans were doing, screaming at the TV because the New York Knicks just secured their first NBA championship in 53 years. She was hyped, she was celebrating, and her beloved two-year-old Golden Saint Berdoodle, Jameson, was right there with her, even wearing a blue and orange Knicks jersey for the occasion. But because the system is always ready to turn our volume into a threat, a neighbor called 911 to report a “screaming woman” and potential domestic dispute.
When the LAPD pulled up to the complex, there was no dispute, just a Black woman and her pet. Marseille opened the door and told officers she was completely fine and just celebrating the game. Cops noticed Jameson and told her to put the dog away.
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Marseille, wanting no trouble, tried to comply and closed the door momentarily to secure him. But when she opened it back up, the energetic pup slipped past her legs into the hallway. Within seconds, multiple gunshots rang out. The LAPD opened fire, blasting the harmless “teddy bear” of a dog right in front of his helpless mother.
The immediate aftermath was caught on a viral video that has already racked up over 18 million views, and it is absolutely soul-crushing. You can see Marseille on the floor of the hallway, clutching Jameson’s lifeless, jersey-clad body, sobbing hysterically. Her pain is visceral as she wails, “We were just so happy… we were celebrating the Knicks.”
In the background of the clip, neighbors can be heard shouting what we are all thinking, screaming at the dozen officers just standing there: “This is f—g pathetic… This is what we pay for?!” Marseille later revealed just how reckless the gunfire was, noting that she was standing so close to her dog that a spent bullet casing literally hit her foot, and she could smell the burning sulfur in the air.
Of course, the LAPD immediately went into corporate protection mode, trying to flip the script and paint the dog as the aggressor. In an official statement, the department claimed that after Marseille reopened her door, “the dog exited the apartment… [and] charged at one of the officers, resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting.”
But Marseille is calling total BS on that narrative, making it clear that Jameson wasn’t growling, baring his teeth, or acting aggressive.
As Mayor Bass pushes the department for answers, a GoFundMe page titled “Justice for Jameson” started by the family has completely exploded, shattering its original goals and pulling in over $180,000 from a community that is sick and tired of this behavior.