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Bronx Woman: NYPD Hasn't Told Me If They're Investigating Why Cop Fatally Shot My Dog

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Bronx woman says she doesn't know if the NYPD is investigating after one of their officers fatally shot her pit bull last month.

Yvonne Rosado told CBS2's Ilana Gold on Tuesday that police have yet to reach out to her.

"I have not, no. They haven't sent me any letter even, or reached out to me in any way," Rosado said.

Rosado's 4-year-old dog Spike was shot point-blank on Feb. 13 after police were responding to a domestic violence incident in the Fordham Heights apartment building she lives in.

"I want to know what's going on. What are they going to do about the situation and at least an apology at minimum, and I haven't even gotten that," she said.

Police were at the apartment next door to Rosado's when she cracked her door open at 5:30 a.m. to see what was happening. Cameras show Spike running up to an officer with his tail wagging by the stairwell.

That's when the officer, identified to CBS2 as Ruben Cuesta, pulled out his gun and shot the dog.

Rosado then raced out of her apartment in her underwear, confronted the police on the stairs and got tackled.

"It's not a dog to me, it's a family member that's gone forever, and I have to live with that image of him in his last moments etched in my memory," Rosado said.

Rosado wants Cuesta disciplined for what happened. CBS2 reports Cuesta is still on the job.

Gold demanded answers from the NYPD on where the investigation stands, but Commissioner Bill Bratton was not available. On Monday, Bratton said the NYPD is looking into the shooting.

"The questions come up, 'Should he have used pepper spray? Did he need to shoot at all?' That will be part of the investigation. I've seen the video myself, portions of it," Bratton said.

Rosado has hired a lawyer who has filed a complaint with the city and plans to file a lawsuit against the NYPD in the next few months.

"I want justice for my dog. I want justice for my family, for having to go through such a traumatic experience and see that," Rosado said.

The NYPD recently started giving officers a stronger pepper spray to carry, saying the older kind is too weak to work on dogs. It's not known if the officer who killed Spike had the new spray.

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