A call Sunday night led to a man’s arrest on resisting and communicating threats counts after a Roanoke Rapids police officer non-fatally shot his dog which Chief Shane Guyant said was coming toward the officer in an attacking manner.

Roger Jay Grant, 48, faces two counts of communicating threats and resist, delay and obstruct which Guyant said was related to him reportedly threatening he was going to kill the officers for shooting his dog.

Guyant said the call came in Sunday night around 9:30 and was related to a medical alert call in the 1000 block of Cedar Street. 

Officers would later learn that while there was a medical emergency it was at a residence next door to Grant’s and that the victim of the emergency had failed to notify the medical alert company of their address change.

Officer B. Johnson arrived at the scene to answer the call, observed the front door was open, and heard a loud bark within the residence. Master Officer N. Powell arrived and she and Johnson discussed the call when a large pit bull appeared on the porch and, according to Guyant, was “growling aggressively and barking loudly at officers.”

A neighbor came over and inquired why officers were there. The neighbor walked onto the porch and got the dog back into the house but as Johnson and Powell walked back to the house the “dog quickly came out running and growling at Master Officer Powell in an attacking manner.”

Powell fired a single gunshot in the head area and the dog fell to the ground.

Grant came out, reportedly “very intoxicated,” Guyant said, and began threatening the officers for shooting his dog. “Officers attempted to deescalate Grant, but he was obviously angry and very aggressive,” Guyant said.   

Officers took Grant into custody and told him the dog needed medical attention. Grant turned the dog over to his sister, who lives next door. The officers told the sister to get the dog to a vet as soon as possible.

On Monday Animal Control Officer P. Wilson attempted to check on the dog and noted it was walking around with a head injury. Grant refused Wilson’s request to surrender the dog so police could take it for an examination. Grant indicated he would take the dog for examination today. Guyant said the alternative to surrendering the dog would have been to obtain a court order to take custody of the animal.

The police chief confirmed the dog was taken to the vet this morning.

The dog has been aggressive to law enforcement and animal control on a number of occasions over the past few years, Guyant said. “This office has taken many regulatory actions against Grant for the aggressiveness of this dog.”

In March of 2021 Guyant said Grant threatened officers who were serving an arrest warrant that he was going to let the dog loose on them. The charges were voluntarily dismissed by the district attorney’s office in October of that year.

“It is highly unfortunate that our officer had to shoot the dog, but it was charging her and in a rational person’s mind they would easily believe the dog was in an attack mode,” Guyant said. “The officers defended themselves from an attack by a very large dog.  The body camera footage shows this clearly. We made two attempts to get Grant to surrender his dog to us for examination.”

Guyant said the body camera footage could not be released without superior court authority per North Carolina general statutes.

Grant received a $10,000 bond and June 28 district court date.

Detention center records show he is no longer in custody.