L.A. Now Live: Weigh in on shooting of dog by Hawthorne police

The Hawthorne Police Department says it will investigate the shooting of a Rottweiler after a video of the incident went viral on the Internet.

“I’m not saying it’s justified, but even when it’s justified, there are some learning points,” Hawthorne police Lt. Scott Swain said. “Could we have done anything different? We’ll look at all those facts.”

Join Times reporter Matt Hamilton at 9 a.m. on L.A. Now Live to discuss the latest on the case.

The incident Sunday was videotaped (note that it contains strong language and disturbing images) and has more than 2.6 million views on YouTube.

Leon Rosby arrived at 137th Street and Jefferson Avenue in Hawthorne on Sunday evening to videotape a police standoff. He brought along his 2-year-old Rottweiler, Max.

He leashed the dog and began filming, and later put the dog in the back seat of a car. Hawthorne police deemed Rosby’s actions interference and placed him under arrest. When Rosby was detained, Max jumped out of the car and lunged at officers.

One of the officers drew a gun and fired four times. Dozens of residents watched the shooting, with some shrieking and moaning. Handcuffed, Rosby looked away in horror.

“I’ve never seen someone that close to me get killed like that,” Rosby, 52, said in an interview.

Rosby, an ordained minister now working as a licensed contractor, said he was filming the crime scene to protect the civil rights of those under investigation by police. When officers questioned him, he said, he asserted his right to record.

In March, Rosby filed a lawsuit against the city of Hawthorne and several officers in the Police Department, alleging that he was assaulted and brutalized in a July 2012 incident. Rosby said he has also filed numerous complaints against individual officers.

One of the officers named in the lawsuit was at the crime scene Sunday night, according to police, but was not involved in Rosby’s arrest or the shooting of his dog.