The two shots that rang out along Market Street on the afternoon of Nov. 9 were bracketed by the high-pitched whine of an off-leash dog, a husky mix that had charged a police officer.
The San Francisco Police Department on Tuesday released details of the incident in which an officer shot the animal and its owner, wounding both.
Police officials, including interim Chief Paul Yep, presented body-worn camera and surveillance footage, (opens in new tab) along with other evidence, as part of the department’s policy of holding public meetings about shootings by officers.
A man flagged down two officers near 4th and Market streets just past 4:30 p.m. and told them a dog had attacked him without warning as he was skateboarding.
“It was barking aggressively,” the man is heard telling the officers in the video footage. “It was loud. I didn’t do anything. … It came up and fucking bit my leg.”
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Surveillance video shows the dog and its apparent owner walking away. The bite drew blood on the skateboarder’s left leg, according to a photo taken by police.
Officers Joseph Toomey and Brian Hicklin approached the dog’s owner, identified as Trusten Eaton, and told him he was being arrested and must control his dog, according to the department.
Video shows the dog charging Toomey as Eaton yells, “He’s saying hi.”
Toomey can be seen drawing his pistol and aiming at the dog. As the dog bares its teeth, the officer says, “I will blow your dog away.” The footage then shows Eaton walking the dog away from the officers along the sidewalk.
“That’s my friend, he’s just saying hi,” Eaton repeats to Hicklin, who tries to detain him from another direction.
When the two officers catch up with Eaton half a block away, they again try to stop him, the footage shows. The dog charges Toomey, who fires two rounds. One bullet hits the dog in the right shoulder; the other strikes Eaton in the left leg.
The dog can be heard shrieking. Soon after both shots are fired, Eaton charges at Toomey, who is still holding a gun, the footage shows. Eaton, holding a plastic bottle, flays his arms as he and the officer grapple against a building.
Eaton flees with the dog along Market Street until additional officers detain him in front of the Levi’s store. While the officers are arresting Eaton, the dog bites officer Andrew Kidd in the rear, the footage shows.
Eaton and the dog were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the SFPD.
Eaton — who was charged with a misdemeanor in October and placed in a diversion program, according to the department — was booked on resisting arrest, making threats of force or violence, possessing drug paraphernalia, having an unleashed dog, and allowing the dog to bite people.
This is the second police shooting involving Toomey, who has been with the SFPD for more than 20 years. On Nov. 17, 2020, Toomey and officer Ryan Thomson (opens in new tab) shot Antonio Estrada, who was armed with a knife, according to the SFPD. No charges were filed.
More than 800 dog bites were reported in San Francisco in the first nine months of 2025. Canine Court, San Francisco’s arbitrator for owners of dangerous dogs, was abruptly suspended in June.