WASHINGTON: Prosecutors have filed assault and gun charges against a Washington, D.C., man accused of shooting three police officers trying to serve an animal cruelty warrant, touching off a daylong standoff.
The officers were treated for leg and arm wounds at hospitals in the nation’s capital and have since been released, the Metropolitan Police Department said Friday. A fourth officer was treated for other injuries.
Authorities also removed several guns and 31 dogs from the home of Stephen C. Rattigan, also known as Julius James, prosecutors said. An attorney for Rattigan did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The shooting unfolded after officers approached his home on Wednesday morning to serve the animal cruelty warrant issued after Rattigan was allegedly recorded punching one of his dogs who had approached neighbors in the southeast part of the city.
The officers were confronted by aggressive dogs when they tried to enter, and, soon after that, a hail of bullets injured the officers, according to court documents. Rattigan went back into the house and barricaded himself inside, sporadically shooting his gun through the day until his arrest late Wednesday night, police said.
He told police that he fired the shots because he feared the police were going to hurt him or his dogs, authorities said in charging documents.
Rattigan was charged with assault with intent to kill while armed, assault on a police officer while armed, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
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