A South Toledo man has been accused of assaulting a Toledo police officer after the officer shot and seriously injured a dog.

Brandon Gill, 20, of 705 Balfe St. was charged with felonious assault on a police officer in the incident Wednesday night at his house, authorities said. 

During his arraignment Thursday in Toledo Municipal Court, Mr. Gill was ordered held at the Lucas County jail in lieu of the bond pending a preliminary hearing June 18, according to court records.

Julie Lyle, director of Lucas County Canine Care & Control, said the “pit bull”-type dog involved had been shot in the left front lower extremity, left upper arm/​shoulder area, and right rear leg. The dog was euthanized by her staff, she said.

A Lucas County deputy dog warden and two police officers responding to an animal complaint by a neighbor went to the Balfe Street address about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to contact the dog’s owner, Jay Rummell, police said in a written statement. 

The neighbor, Ryan Kozsa, told police he was walking in an alley behind the Balfe Street house earlier that night when he was bitten in the arm. 

He said he was attacked by three dogs that had escaped from Mr. Rummell’s residence.

When a canine control officer was serving a citation for failure to confine the dogs to Mr. Rummell, Mr. Gill, his roommate, opened the front door and let the three dogs out, disobeying police Officer Andrew Pennington’s order to keep the door shut, police said.

The dogs escaped from the house, charged the officers, and chased Officer Pennington “who retreated to the side of the house,” at which time he shot at the lead dog, striking it several times, according to police. The other two dogs ran back into the house.

Police said after the dog shooting, Mr. Gill “came off the porch and started swinging at the officers.” A brief struggle ensued and he was taken into custody.

Mr. Rummell was treated at the scene for “a small superficial wound from unknown debris,” police said.

The other two dogs, also “pit bull”-types, remained at home with their owner, uninjured, Ms. Lyle said.

Officer Pennington, 25, a two-year TPD veteran, was not hurt in the incident.

Ms. Lyle said the dog that was shot was taken to an emergency veterinarian, where workers assessed that it was badly injured. 

The dog’s owner surrendered it to the county agency with the understanding that it would be euthanized because of its injuries, she said.

Canine control officers investigating the incident Thursday discovered that along with the dog who was shot, a second dog had been involved in the biting incident earlier Wednesday. 

The officers seized that dog, which will remain at the shelter until further notice, Ms. Lyle said. Both the dog that was shot and a female dog that was seized were declared vicious.

On Thursday, Mr. Rummell said he didn’t think Mr. Gill released the dogs intentionally, because Mr. Gill opened an inner door and the dogs got past an outer storm door with a broken latch. 

He said the past two days “have been stressful.” He said the dogs were not aggressive with people who lived in the house and had not bitten anyone in the past, but said they could be “territorial” toward others.

The third dog at the home was not involved in biting and will remain with the owner, Ms. Lyle said.

Staff writers Alexandra Mester and Lauren Lindstrom contributed to this report.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com, 419-724-6089, or on Twitter @mikesigovblade.

First Published June 12, 2015, 4:00 a.m.