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It happened in Germantown on Monday, April 17 around 4:15 p.m., police said. A 62-year-old man was walking his dog when two unleashed pit bulls approached him near 20th and Chew Streets.
One of the pit bulls began to attack the man's dog, police said. The owner tried to separate the animals but was unsuccessful, and drew his Taurus 9mm handgun before firing twice at the attacking dog and killing it, officials wrote.
The other dog scurried away through a nearby alley.
The man returned to his home, put his dog inside, and went to approach a uniformed police officer on the corner of 21st and Conlyn Streets, authorities continued. He told the officer that he had just shot a dog nearby and that he still had his gun in the holster on his hip.
The officer told the 62-year-old that he would need to "secure his weapon," so the man placed his hands above his head while the officer grabbed the firearm, PPD wrote.
"As the officer attempted to remove the gun, he accidentally discharged it, striking the civilian in the right leg," police said.
The officer "immediately" drove the man to Albert Einstein Hospital where his condition was stabilized, according to authorities. Police noted that the 62-year-old was licensed to carry and that the handgun was legally registered in his name.
The policeman, 50-year-old James Edmiston, has been placed on "restricted duty status" pending the results of an internal investigation by PPD and the District Attorney's Office, the department added.
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