ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The woman whose pit bull was shot and killed this past weekend by a Rochester police officer said Thursday that police acted unreasonably and could have used other options to handle the situation.

According to the Rochester Police Department, two officers felt threatened by Zeke the pit bull, while Jennifer Girolamo, and her attorney, John Parrinello, both said the officers' conduct was extreme.

Around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, two officers stopped by Jennifer’s home to serve her an arrest warrant. She said one officer knocked on the door while the other waited at the bottom of the stairs. 

According to Parrinello, Girolamo opened the door and one of her pit bulls raced out in the direction of the officer at the bottom of the steps. Parrinello said it was then when the officer fell back and shot Zeke twice, killing him.

Police said that the two officers were charged at by a large pit bull that got out of the house when an occupant opened the door, and got dangerously close to one officer, who had fallen in the snow. That officer feared he would be attacked by the dog that was still running at him and had to shoot the dog.

"He should have told Jennifer to get them or put them in their cage and get them under control," Parrinello said. "The other alternative was to call the Town of Greece and ask for the animal control people and wait for them to show up because they're used to handling dogs."

"I announced, 'he's friendly , he doesn't bite," Girolamo said. "As soon as I said those words, I heard two gunshots. Then I heard an eerie silence that I will never forget. The smell of the gun, like it was right in my face. Distinct smell and I was in complete shock."

Zeke was a gift from Jennifer's late husband, who, she said, died only four weeks after giving her the pit bull.

Parrinello said if the city isn’t willing to voluntarily disclose the internal investigation and incident report, they plan to file a notice of claim to sue the city. Parrinello said they’ll ask for the costs of more than four years of care for the dog, plus emotional distress.

When asked for comment Thursday, the Rochester Police Department stated there would be no comment on pending litigation.