Marshall and Millions, Two London Dogs Owned by an Unhoused Man, Were Apparently Killed by Police

Stories of police brutality are shamefully common in the U.S. in particular, but the U.S. is not the only country that has a history of police abuse. Recently, a story out of the United Kingdom has gone viral around the world, in part because the subject of the abuse was a pair of dogs.

The dogs, who were named Marshall and Millions, may not have deserved their fate, and now people across the world are learning their story and feeling outraged over it.

Marshall and Millions were a pair of dogs (perhaps American Staffordshire terriers or Alapaha blue blood bulldogs) who belonged to Louie Turnbull, an unhoused man living in London. Marshall was 3 years old, and Millions was just 9 months old. The dogs were gunned down by London police just moments after a woman claimed that the dogs had attacked her and her dogs.

That action may have been appropriate if the dogs were out of control, but some witnesses are claiming that the woman just got caught on the dog's leashes and was never in danger.

The deaths of Marshall and Millions have led to protests on the streets of London from Animal Rising, and Louie, the dogs' owner, spoke at a vigil to honor the dogs and their deaths.

"They pulled out all their weapons. They were intimidating me and the dogs," he said. "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."

Louie was also tasered and arrested following the incident, and then had to appear in court after being charged with being in possession of animals that were out of control.

"It was just so disgusting," Louie added. "All I was doing was trying to get them back in the boat. And I was going to come out and speak to the police. But they weren’t having it."

As the story of Marshall and Millions continues to circulate, reports have also emerged that the woman who accused the dogs and alerted the police was traumatized by their killing.

Videos of Louie snuggling with his dogs has emerged since the incident, as has video of the actual killing itself, which is disturbing to watch. The officers who were actually involved in the shooting have been cleared of all wrongdoing by the Met Police.

In a statement released following the vigil, Animal Rising said, "We are here to remember the two beautiful dogs, Marshall and Millions, who were killed by the Met Police earlier this week, 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."

Unfortunately, no potential justice will bring back these two dogs, who appear to have been killed without any proper investigation or justification, simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.