VIDEO: Calif. Officer Shoots Lunging Dog

A Hawthorne (Calif.) Police officer shot and killed a man's Rottweiler after the dog lunged at a fellow officer who was arresting his master. The graphic incident was filmed by onlookers and posted to YouTube.

The shooting occurred at 5:44 p.m. Sunday after a standoff between police and armed robbery suspects near the intersection of 137th Street and Jefferson Avenue. Hawthorne PD officers used the agency's tactical vehicle and loud-speaker system.

Officers handcuffed Leon Rosby, 52, after he walked close to the scene with an 80-pound Rottweiler on a long leash-line, creating "an increasingly dangerous situation," according to a Hawthorne PD statement.

Officers approached Rosby, who they later said was interfering with the situation by approaching officers and playing loud music from a vehicle. Rosby placed his dog in the rear of his car. Officers approached Rosby and placed him in handcuffs.

The dog jumped out of the car's rear window and when it made "aggressive movements" toward the officers, one officer fearing the dog would bite him drew his weapon and fatally shot the dog.