Police officers, animal cruelty and the incident in Green Bay

[Linda and Murphy]

 

Last Friday, 2 New Orleans police officers were charged by the DA with aggravated cruelty to animals and malfeasance in the deaths of their K-9 partners. One dog was left in a vehicle in late May and died of shock from heat stroke (this was very well publicized by the media and there was a trememedous public outcry) and the other fell down an elevator shaft.

 

I have never quite gotten over the incident in Green Bay, Wisconsin where the police officers shot the lost Doodle 3 times. I was horrified, to say the least. Does Green Bay or Wisconsin even have animal cruelty laws?  Hard to imagine that dogs in Louisiana have more rights than dogs in Wisconsin.

 

 

 

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/04/2_new_orleans_cops_char...

 

Two New Orleans police officers were charged by District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office Thursday with crimes related to police dogs who died in their care.

 

Officer Jason Lewis was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, while Sgt. Randy Lewis, a former supervisor in the New Orleans Police Department's K-9 unit, was charged with malfeasance in office, according to documents filed at Criminal District Court.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Well, the best one can hope is that it was truly an accident.

[Kyoko]

I am glad that they were properly discplined! Often they would think they can get away with a lot of things simply because they are police officers.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

The New Orleans situation is really surprising to me. My brother was a police officer for many years, and he's had good friends who had K9 dogs. He has always talked about the amazing bond that developed between the officers and their dogs, and how they actually thought of them as their partners. When it came time for a working dog to retire, the officers almost always kept them. They operated as a team and relied upon each other, often in dangerous situations. That's why this just doesn't make sense to me. The cruelty seems inconsistent with what I've heard.

[Linda and Murphy]

I agree with both of you.I never heard any explanation (or excuse) for leaving the dog in the car at the airport.
It was horrible.
I guess my point with the article is that even though the police tried to cover up what happened, they were still held accountable. Our local media personalities (at least one per station) are very involved with the animal rescue groups and the Humane Society. In my heart, I believe it was the media coverage that led to the investigation.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's very inconsistent with the norms for police K9 units. It doesn't make any sense to me, either.

[Missi]

I was thinking the same thing! My brother is a K9 officer with his sherriff's department in Florida. His retired dog, Daisy, is definitely part of the family. His new dog is treated like a partner and very well-respected. I couldn't imagine him leaving him in the car without the AC running or falling down an elevator shaft!

[Lauria Orr]

I just saw this and it is months and months later.  It makes me sick.  My husband is a Police Chief.  They do have a  K-9 division, and are very respectful of their dogs.  They use them not only for searches,but also in PR, which is greatly appreciated.  There was a case around here some years ago, where there was a group who tortured some dogs.  The police in my husband's dept. were very responsive and there was a lot of community outrage.  The community sent a lot of donations to the police dept., who were able to pass that on to pay for the medical bills for the injured dogs.  There was quite a bit left over, which went to area shelters.  Animal abuse is abhorrent. To have it happen by those who have positions of this kind of responsibility is beyond inexcusable.

[Linda and Murphy]

It is.  The officer plead guilty to animal abuse charges and 6 months suspended sentence and 6 months probation and had to pay $12,000 restitution (the cost of another dog). The charges were misdemeanor not felony. Don't understand that. The outcry here was tremendous.

[Lauria Orr]

What an outrage.  He should have lost his job and done jail time.