HCSO: Video shows dog attacking horses before being shot by mounted deputy after Gasparilla parade

TAMPA, Fla. - The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office defended the actions of a mounted deputy Monday after one of them shot and killed a dog as Gasparilla wrapped up over the weekend.

The department released a surveillance video of the situation, which shows the dog running over to a group of mounted deputies and police officers.

"A dog ran off from the side of the roadway and actually started attacking those horses, trying to bite them at their legs, bite them in their sheath area," said Crystal Clark, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.

In the video, the horses can be seen stopping in their tracks when the dog runs over. The deputies then appear to be trying to keep their horses calm as the dog runs through the herd. A man could be seen trying to chase after the dog through the herd of horses.

Clark said a nearby deputy tried to use his taser on the dog, but couldn't use it without potentially tasing the horse. Another deputy felt the situation was becoming too dangerous, so she opened fire.

"She knew that if she didn't make a decision, multiple people could have ended up getting hurt," Clark said. "This is not an easy decision that the deputy had to make. It's something that she knew had to be done for everyone's safety, but it's something that again we don't take lightly and it's something that we all wish didn't have to occur had that owner taken the correct steps to secure his dog."

Some witnesses who spoke with FOX 13 wondered whether the deputy overreacted. The said the owner, who investigators said is a homeless man, was trying to catch his pet.

Deputies, however, said that's not what they saw happening.

"The owner is there. He's standing in the roadway, but he just kind of has his hands on his head, a little bit in disbelief of what's happening and he doesn't make any attempt to grab his dog," Clark said. "It doesn't appear that he had the dog tied very tightly because, as you can see in the video we relesaed, the dog comes running out and there's no leash hanging from behind him."

Deputies held the dog's owner under the Baker Act after they said he made threatening statements to harm deputies and himself. Investigators said a knife was found in the man's pocket.

The incident is under investigation.