Cops Shoot Dog [VIDEO]

This is so disturbing.  We don't know the whole story but from the video it doesn't seem like this had to happen.

Police officers in Hawthorne, California are facing some heat this week after a video was posted to Reddit which showed them shooting a man’s dog.

The man, Leon Rosby, was taking video on his phone of several officers who had closed off a street and were going into a home. He, as you can see, was being recorded by another bystander.

Rosby, who is clearly devastated in the video, is planning to sue the Hawthorne Police Department; however, they say they were not only protecting themselves, but were protecting Rosby, who was handcuffed and wouldn't have been able to protect himself had the dog attacked.  **AGAIN THIS IS VERY GRAPHIC**

What do you think?  Could this have been avoided?