VIDEO: Calif. cops shoot bean bag at barking dog

WEST COVINA, Calif. - Authorities in West Covina, Calif. say two barking dogs were out of control and a threat to children when officers used a bean-bag gun and a fire extinguisher on them, but witnesses say tell a different story, reports CBS Los Angeles.

James Clark says he plans to file a formal complaint against the two police officers who were captured on video using force on his two barking dogs.

Clark told the station he wasn't home when one of his Labrador retrievers, Max, got out of his yard and was reported to be chasing children at a nearby school. When officers arrived, a neighbor captured one of them on video shooting Max with a bean bag.

"My heart broke. My heart still breaks every time I hear him whimper," Clark said. "You know, it's like my son here falling and getting hurt."

Police say the video only tells part of the story.

"The officers acted very appropriately. They kept that dog from hurting them," West Covina police Lt. Ken Plunkett said, according to the station.

Because the camera is so shaky, only the audio of the bean-bag shot going off can be heard, he said. The video viewer does not show the moments leading up to it.

"At that point, that's when the dog became aggressive and charged at him," Lt. Plunkett said.

Witnesses, however, say the dogs were not being as aggressive as police claim.

"He was barking but not like all dramatic," witness Anna Estrada said, according to the station. " 'Ruff, ruff.' Like a dog would bark. It was a normal bark...I think the cop was being more dramatic, calling more attention on himself."

After Max was shot with the bean bag, police say the officers tried to get him back in the yard, where his sister Chloe was barking behind the fence. The video also shows one of the officers using a fire extinguisher on Chloe.

While watching the video, the dog owner, Clark points out where the officers use the fire extinguisher.

"He sprays her. And now the officers, they can't breathe themselves," he said.

Again, police disagree.

"The nozzle wasn't pointed at the dog and directly shot...in the face," Lt. Plunkett said. "From the video, you can see that the fire extinguisher was shot off in the direction of the back yard and you can see the smoke going up, which probably scared the dog enough to move it back."