Warning, this is not for the faint-hearted.
A police officer in North Carolina in the United States has resigned after footage of him choking a police dog was leaked.
The incident took place in early March and footage of it, which has surfaced on social media, can be seen below. Be advised, it depicts graphic scenes of animal cruelty.
Just another example of cops being trash . Must be a day ending in Y
“North Carolina PD choke police dog & slam the innocent animal against a car while another officer says "there are no witnesses" in reassurance."#PoliceBrutality#AnimalAbuse pic.twitter.com/O103idTJ66
— Brandon (@BrandonJBranden) March 12, 2021
As can be seen and heard, the officer attaches a leash to the K-9, named Zuul, and uses it to hoist the poor pup off the ground, swinging him around and carrying it over his shoulder.
He then jokes “no witnesses” to the recording officer, before slamming the dog against the car and hitting it on the head.
The officer is believed to have been under an internal investigation by his employers, Salisbury Police Department, which deemed that he should be fired. However, he chose to quit before a full hearing and termination could even be carried out.
Nevertheless, it is clear that he carried out “inappropriate discipline on the dog” and the Salisbury Police Department has stated that it will review its K-9 training operations, policies and procedures.
“The Salisbury Police Department will continue to review and make the necessary changes to our K-9 training operations, policies and procedures that align with industry best practices,” the statement read.
A PETA protest took place outside the Salisbury police department last week and the organisation issued a letter calling for the officer to be criminally prosecuted.
On the wellbeing of the dog involved, Salisbury Police Department said: “Zuul is currently resting at a professional canine care facility. Zuul was taken to the veterinarian in Salisbury this week for another checkup and received a clean bill of health.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
