NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans police officer who shot and killed a puppy while responding to a call is set to go to trial Monday in a federal lawsuit filed by the dog's owners.

The Catahoula Leopard dog ran up to Officer Derrick Burmaster after he entered the yard in response to a report of a domestic disturbance in 2021. The department’s internal investigators said the dog did not pose a threat.

Multiple internal investigations by the New Orleans Police Department found that the lethal shooting of the 18-week-old, 22-pound (10-kilogram) rescue dog Apollo violated department policies and was “unjustified.” But after Apollo’s owners sued Burmaster and the city of New Orleans in 2022, department leadership in July 2023 cleared him of wrongdoing for his use of force during the final step in t

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