The following is an account of events given by Bonnie Lee of Bakersfield, CA describing how Probation Officer Carlos Sillas, of the Kern County Probation Department, displayed gross carelessness in the discharge of his duties by unjustly shooting and killing her beloved family pet named Dexter, and wounding his daughter Della.

In Bakersfield, CA, on July 31, 2014 my beloved 10 year old Queensland, Dexter, was murdered and his daughter Della was wounded by Kern County Probation Officer Carlos Sillas.

A week prior to Dexter’s murder and Della’s injury Probation Officer Carlos Sillas came to my house looking for my stepdaughter. We had a lengthy discussion about my dogs. After asking him specifically three times to call me before he arrived so that I could secure my pets, and he agreed all three times to my request.

He lied! Just a week after that conversation, Officer Sillas arrived unannounced, opened the gate to my fence and came into my yard. When Dexter and Della came out of their doggy door to see who was in their yard, he drew his weapon and shot both of them. Dexter was shot three times killing him and Della was shot once center mass in the chest. Luckily, she survived.

 There were other choices Officer Sillas could have made to ensure his safety and ultimately the safety of Dexter and Della. If he would have contacted me letting me know of his plans to visit my home as he had agreed to do, I would have secured them. As soon as Officer Sillas saw Dexter and Della he could have easily taken a step back and shut the gate. If he felt shutting the gate was not an option he could have used non-lethal means in order to subdue them such as pepper-spray.

 These law enforcement officers need to be held accountable when they shoot our family members two or four legged. This goes on too often in Kern County. We need to let our public officials know that we will not stand for it any longer. The law needs to change, and this is the beginning. I told my Dexter I would not let his death be in vain.

Officer Sillas needs to be held accountable for the unjustified shooting of Dexter and Della.

I made a promise to Dexter that I would not let his death be in vain, please help me keep this promise by standing with us to let our public officials know that we will not stand for this type of behavior on behalf of law enforcement officials any longer.

We the undersigned are demanding that Chief Probation Officer, David M. Kuge of the Kern County Probation Department take the following action against Probation Officer Carlos Sillas, for the unjust shooting of our beloved pets, Dexter and Dalla.

-  Complete a full investigation of Probation Officer Carlos Sillas for the shooting of our beloved family pets, Dexter and Della.

-  Provide the Lee’s family with a copy of the Police Report as well as the Firearm’s Discharge Report.

-  Implement mandatory animal encounter training for all officers to teach them how to assess aggressive behavior in dogs and how to use non-lethal options during encounters.

-  Policies be put in place to hold these officers accountable for their actions towards our family pets.

Please help us seek justice for Dexter and Della by signing and sharing this petition.

If you would like more information on Dexter and Della’s case, please visit his Facebook page at:

 https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforDexterDella 

#JusticeForDexterNDella