Police officer charged in Arundel dog park shooting
Prosecutors in Anne Arundel County have charged Keith Shepherd, 32, of Severn, a civilian police officer for the Army in Northern Virginia, in connection with shooting the dog Bear-Bear in a park in Severn.
The case attracted national attention, especially after county police initially closed the investigation without filing charges, outraging animal-rights groups and others. The officer was charged with misdemeanors -- animal cruelty and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied home.
To listen to the officer's 911 call.
For for details, read Andrea Siegel's account in The Sun and go to Jill Rosen's Unleashed blog for an interview with the dog owners.
Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:57 PM | Permalink
| Comments (3)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news, Courts and the justice system
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news, Courts and the justice system
Comments
It is a disgrace that crimes against animals should be dismissed like this. If tough penalties are not enforced this will just encourage other people to abuse animals as the consequences are so fickle. The law needs to step in and take this issue seriously.
Posted by: organicivy | August 18, 2010 8:56 PM
How quickly this town moves on - there is more coverage on this (admittedly stupid and heinous) killing of a DOG than the 3 murder of the weekend... What about Milton Hill. Oh, and that JHU tech ... guy.. oh what was his name.... Sad, really, really sad. THIS, that we can't stay focused on caring about PEOPLE getting killed, is what should be getting national attention - not that a cop shot a dog (and that goes for the media as well that trumps up all this crap)
Posted by: baltobikeboi | August 18, 2010 11:08 PM
Firstly, dogs play rough at dog parks from time to time. If the play gets out of hand, there are many other recourses to take rather than discharging a firearm ... endangering animals and people alike! Such reckless behavior on the part of an officer who should have known better, is an insult to the community and should be taken seriously and punished legally and accordingly.
Posted by: Keith DeLancey | August 19, 2010 7:14 PM