WREG.com

911 Call Captures Last Moment Of Animal Hoarder’s Life

(Memphis) It’s the final moments of a man’s life caught on 911.

Animal hoarder Donald Moore was shot and killed by Memphis Police this past January after police say the 69-year-old pointed a gun at them.

Tuesday, the city released the 911 call Moore made when the TACT team showed up at his house.

“I am sitting here and I hear somebody shooting and I don’t know if you shot my animals or not!” said Donald Moore on the tape.

One second after he said that, police shot Moore twice.

Memphis Police Officer Phillip Penny pulled the trigger.

He was part of the TACT team that came to execute a search warrant at Moore’s Cordova home.

Moore was accused of living with too many animals, creating cruel conditions.

“Don. Who is that you are arguing with?” asked the dispatcher.

(Officer talking in background)

“I ain’t committed a crime! Get the &^%* out of here! What are you busting in my house for?” asked Moore.

“Don, come out with your hands up,” says an officer in the background.

That is the last command you hear from police.

Then, 27 seconds later, Officer Penny shot and killed Moore.

That’s a big concern for Moore’s family

“Because there were no orders given,” said Attorney Howard Manis.

Manis represents the family and he says they believe Memphis police went about an animal hoarding case all wrong

“No family member or neighbor was used or contacted to maybe talk to him before going in,” said Manis. “With guns pulled to execute this warrant? It all just seems way too excessive.”

“He didn’t care,” said a neighbor about Moore.

A neighbor says people in the Cordova neighborhood, including her, had tried to get Moore to clean up his act for years.

She says Moore should not have been surprised to find police at his door.

“They had been out here for days trying to talk to him about the animals,” she said.

But it’s clear from the tape if Moore wasn’t surprised, he was definitely confused.

“Why are you breaking into my house for?” asked Moore.

“We are here with a search warrant, Don,” says an officer.

“A search warrant? BS! You don`t have a criminal warrant,” said Moore.

Moore’s family attorney says three main things concern the family about this confrontation.

One, that it was done at night.

Two, police didn’t call his family or friends to try and resolve the situation.

Three, the fact the TACT team was used for animal hoarding case.