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Friday, September 12, 2014

Officer Charged In Dog Death Wants Charges Dropped

Attorneys for a Baltimore police officer accused of cutting a dog's throat are asking a judge to dismiss the animal cruelty charge against him.

Officer Jeffrey Bolger had tried for an hour to restrain the dog, a Shar Pei named Nala, after she ran away from her owner and reportedly bit a pregnant woman outside of a bar in Baltimore, Bolger's attorneys wrote in a motion to dismiss filed Thursday. The lawyers argue that because the dog attacked a person and the officer was unable to subdue the animal, Bolger was authorized to "euthanize" her.

Bolger, 49, has been suspended without pay.

The lawyers also say prosecutors failed to establish probable cause for the charges against Bolger because no preliminary hearing was held. They also argue that Baltimore Police pursued charges against Bolger to protect "senior staff," who lawyers say failed to properly train Bolger and did not outfit him and his partner with the equipment necessary to handle the situation. The motion states that the officers did not have a dog carrier or any sedatives on hand.

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have two dogs and I keep them fenced in. You are responsible for your pets and if dog did bite someone and is considered dangerous,
and could not be controlled, the officer was within his right to put the dog down. I hate to see this happen, because I love my dogs, but the owner is responsible for controlling their pets.

Anonymous said...

4:00 Good post. And that extends to your neighbors... especially if they have livestock. Roaming animals will go down quickly, and without prejudice.

Anonymous said...

Sure owners are responsible for their pets but to slitt the dogs throat with a knife is just cruel. THAT 4:00 pm is a cruel, painful and slow death for any living animal! I am not saying he was wrong in putting him down but there are humane ways to do this!

Anonymous said...

If the officer was wearing a belt, then he possessed a leash, which could be applied to the dog's throat much more easily than a knife blade, PERIOD.

And, we all know he was wearing a belt or TWO.

Anonymous said...

Sure agree 4:58! There was a
much better way. And to my way
of thinking---if the dog was so
dangerous----How did he get close
enough to the animal to do this
without being harmed?

Anonymous said...

did none of you read the article? The dog was on the end of a leash-pole, or whatever it is called. The dog was under control. He just 'doesn't do dogs' and made up his mind to kill it before he walked up to it.

He is a POS and needs jail time.

Anonymous said...

Do unto others as they do unto you.