OWASSO, Okla. — An Owasso police detective is under internal investigation for a third time.
Detective Mike Denton is accused of shooting and killing his neighbor’s dog and lying about it.
While protecting property in an instance like this is not a crime, questions remain about whether an officer's handling of the situation violates his or her code of conduct.
“A warning shot, call animal control,” said Jeremy Geiger. “[There are] any number of things you can do—you don’t have to put a shotgun to the boy’s back and blast him.”
Six months ago, Geiger and his wife moved to the outskirts of Tulsa. They were excited about having more room for their dogs to play, including their 18-month-old Saint Bernard rescue, Buddy Boy.
“Big, lovable, derpy, sweet, social, friendly,” said Geiger, describing his dog.
Last Saturday, he and his wife were moving items inside the house for a home improvement project when Buddy Boy darted through the front door and into a nearby wooded area. He was known to be an escape artist, but typically, came right back. Not this time.
After searching and tracking Buddy Boy’s Apple AirTag for days to various places several miles from their home, Geiger eventually found his dog’s collar in the dumpster behind the Owasso Police Department.
Buddy Boy was also microchipped and wearing identifying tags on the collar.
He went inside and ended up talking to Detective Mike Denton, he said. Geiger would later find out that Denton is his neighbor. At first, Denton told Geiger that he stumbled upon Buddy Boy’s body in an area known for animal dumping and that he took it upon himself to bury the dog.
“It seemed strange,” recalled Geiger. “Why wouldn’t you call and let us collect our animal? But the shock of it at the moment, I couldn’t think straight.”
It wasn’t until Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Denton’s house that officials tell us he later admitted to shooting and killing the dog when he was off-duty. He said Buddy Boy was threatening some of the cats on his property. Geiger said he got further upset by Denton’s response when he was asking for his dog’s remains.
“He used the phrase, ‘I had to kill the f-ing dog. I didn’t want to kill the f-ing dog but I had to put the f-ing dog down,’” he said.
After seeing his dog’s body, Geiger believes his dog was shot at close range and never buried, as Denton told investigators, because his fur was clean and didn’t appear to have been underground. He believes his lack of integrity is a fireable offense.
“It seems he considers himself above the law or not accountable for his actions and there needs to be consequences,” Geiger said.
Denton has twice been fired from the Owasso Police Department over accusations of excessive force. A jury acquitted him in 2015 and he was reinstated as part of a settlement.
2News reached out to the Owasso Police Department which said they take misconduct allegations seriously. Denton has been placed on administrative leave.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction over the area where the incident took place and told us a crime was not committed.
We also heard from Denton’s attorney who said Denton was heartbroken over the matter and that he had built a cairn for burial
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