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PREVIOUS STORY: A drunken Florida tractor-trailer driver was charged with five counts of aggravated assault for setting his pit bull loose on police during a Ringwood traffic stop, forcing them to shoot the dog, authorities said.
John Baker, 54, of Spring Hill, had been "weaving all over the road" in Wanaque while towing luxury boats Monday afternoon, one responder said.
He initially refused to stop, then finally pulled over on Greenwood Lake Turnpike (County Road 511) just north of Skyline Drive, authorities said.
Police from Ringwood and Wanaque said they asked Baker to keep his pit bull contained in the cab, but he let it loose and it charged the five officers.
Two of them -- one of them a former Passaic County sheriff's K9 officer -- fired to stop the nearly 100-pound dog, who didn't survive the injuries, they said.
The first shot didn't stop the pit, so a few additional rounds were fired, Ringwood Police Chief Joseph Walker said.
The incidente upset the officers, he said, noting: "They're animal lovers."
Ringwood police charged Baker with the aggravated assault counts and Wanaque police hit him with DWI, reckless driving and eluding, among other offenses.
He was sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a detention hearing.
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ALSO SEE: A 78-year-old Maywood military vet was injured while protecting his dog from harm in a freak chain-reaction crash Sunday night, responders said.
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