Police shoot dog, arrest owner, after pit bull attacks another dog near the Montana Veterans Home

A Columbia Falls man is facing charges of resisting arrest, obstructing a police officer and owning a vicious dog after an incident Friday in which officers were forced to shoot and kill the animal.

According to Columbia Falls Police Chief Clint Peters, it took multiple Taser deployments to subdue Nikolas Nish, 31, after he failed to comply with commands from three Columbia Falls police officers and one Flathead County Sheriff’s deputy. The dog, a pit bull, was also tased, but officers were forced to shoot and kill the animal after it continued to act aggressively.

“This is a very unfortunate incident and a pretty sad situation,” Peters said. “We take all loss of life seriously, whether it is human or animal. We had an easy solution to the situation, but the dog’s owner refused to comply. The officer did not want to shoot the dog, but I feel he had justification to do so.”

According to the police call log and Peters, three Columbia Falls policemen and one Flathead County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a call around 4:50 p.m. Friday that had reported a pit bull attacking another dog near the Montana Veterans Home. Upon their arrival, the officers found the dog owner carrying his dog away from the scene of the attack. According to Peters, the man was immediately verbally abusive towards law enforcement.

The man was asked to place his dog inside one of the patrol vehicles, but he refused to comply and continued to berate the officers.

Finally, the man attempted to flee from the scene on foot and the officers used Tasers to bring him down. According to Peters, the officers were forced to use multiple Taser deployments, as Nish’s heavy clothing prevented the Taser contacts from reaching the skin.

Once Nish went to the ground, the pit bull came free of his arms and began acting aggressively toward the officers. The officers Tased the dog in an attempt to subdue it, but the animal continued to act aggressively after the Taser cycle had ended. Peters said the dog made a move to attack an officer, and that officer was forced to use multiple shots to dispatch the animal.

Peters said police had responded to another call involving Nish and the pit bull on a prior occasion, when both Nish and the animal acted aggressively towards the officers. Other than that call, Peters said the police department had no knowledge of the dog attacking any other animals or people.

“This incident is not anything that people like to do. I feel bad for the people involved, both the officer that had to shoot the dog and the owner that lost his dog,” Peters said. “I wish the dog would have been controlled on a leash and that the man had complied and put the dog in car, as he was asked to do. This is an unfortunate situation that could have been easily avoided.”

Peters declined to name the officer that shot the dog and said the matter remains under investigation.