Marshall and Millions: petition calling for justice for two dogs shot by Met Police attracts 950k signatures

The dogs' owner Louie Turnbull claimed the Met Police had "murdered" his two Staffordshire bull terriers
Marshall and Millions were shot by police officers on 7 May after reports that a woman had been mauledMarshall and Millions were shot by police officers on 7 May after reports that a woman had been mauled
Marshall and Millions were shot by police officers on 7 May after reports that a woman had been mauled

A petition calling for justice for two dogs shot dead by police officers in London has attracted almost a million signatures of support.

Marshall and Millions, two Staffordshire bull terriers, were gunned down in the capital earlier this month by Metropolitan Police officers after reports that the pair had mauled a woman moments earlier.

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Their owner, homeless man Louie Turnbull, 46, who was tasered and arrested, has appeared in court charged with being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control.

What happened?

The incident, which was caught on camera, took place on the evening of Sunday 7 May in East London.

In the footage, a man is seen holding both dogs on a lead as he walks by a canal. An officer tells the man they “need to assess your dogs and assess you” while the dogs bark. The incident escalates before both dogs are shot dead.

The Met Police said they had responded to reports of a woman being attacked by a dog in Commercial Road. While at the location they witnessed “the aggressive behaviour of two dogs” which was of “considerable concern and posed a significant threat to them”.

The incident, which took place at 5.30pm, was filmed by onlookers in surrounding buildings. A 25-year-old woman who recorded the incident and posted it on Twitter, said: "It didn't seem proportionate. It is beyond belief. It was so shocking. I didn't realise it was a proper gun until the dogs were just lying completely out on the ground.”

She said she saw the dogs bleeding and that she’d “never seen anything like that”.

“You hear of these things happening in America but not here. Whatever had happened, it's not an excuse for it to end like that,” she added. “Some of the other neighbours were shouting 'it's disgusting' and 'we're not in America'."

The petition calling for justice for Marshall and Millions has been set up with more than 950,000 people calling for action at the time of publication.

Sadie Geoghegan-Dann, who started the petition, wrote: "The Metropolitan Police are attempting to justify the barbaric killing of two dogs in Tower Hamlets, London, on the afternoon of Sunday 7th May, 2023.

"In a statement, the Met Police claim the 'aggressive behaviour of two dogs was of considerable concern and posed a significant threat to them'. And yet, concrete video evidence all over social media shows these dogs to be under control and on leads with their owner. Yes, these dogs are barking and reacting to the police, but any normal dog would do the same when being approached by multiple armed, vocal people in uniform, surrounding them in such a threatening manner.

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"They continue to claim in their statement that these dogs were "dangerously out of control" and, yet again, video evidence shows this not to be the case. The dogs even immediately calm down when their owner asks them to.

"So why, then, is it acceptable for the police to not only taser their owner, but SHOOT AND KILL BOTH DOGS AT CLOSE RANGE?! One of which seemingly doesn't die straight away, either, and is left to suffer on the canal path while shocked onlookers are left screaming.

"And why, too, does one police officer, who has one of the dogs secure in a catch pole, then choose to release that dog and let it run back to its owner, only to be shot as it runs away?"

Protests and vigils are being held across the country in support of the dogs, calling for the police officers who killed them to face justice.

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A vigil will be held in Doncaster 4 June, according to our sister title the Doncaster Free Press. Organiser Joanna Behrendt said: “The peaceful vigil shows our support, love and concern for Marshall and Millions. Two beautiful boys were shot dead by the Met Police in London.

"Banners and posters are welcome. Please remember that this is not a protest. #justiceformarshallandmillions.”

Earlier this month, 200 members of Animal Rising, the group who disrupted the Grand National, held a demonstration outside Scotland Yard where Mr Turnbull told the crowd that officers had "murdered" his dogs.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Turnbull said: "They pulled out all their weapons. They were intimidating me and the dogs. And all they were doing was trying to protect me. I had them on the lead, I was pulling them away and they just murdered them. I can’t sleep."

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Witnesses who saw the woman being 'attacked' by the two dogs claimed she had got caught up in their leads and was not seriously injured.

Animal Rising said: “We are here to remember the two beautiful dogs Marshall and Millions who were killed by the Met Police, to remember all the human and non-human lives that are taken every day at the hands of the state and the police, and to hold the Met Police accountable for their actions.”

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