Ring doorbell footage capturing the moment an Indiana cop kicks dog has quickly spread around the globe, sparking outrage amongst the public, many of whom have taken to the Terre Haute Police Department’s Facebook page to demand answers.
The footage, which has been shared across Reddit and Facebook, shows a police officer approaching the porch steps of a family home. As he begins to make his way onto the porch, he’s shown kicking a barking dog who squeals and runs off.
After the incident, a second officer joins his colleague on the porch as the first officer knocks on the door. A neighbor yells across to the pair that the residents aren’t home and the officers are seen leaving the property as the clip comes to an end.
The video has caused a mass outpouring of anger, with many expressing their disgust at the way the first officer conducted himself. Click below to watch this video for yourself.
Yesterday evening while my family and I were at work, someone broke into my home. My dogs ran the intruder off. This was the response shortly after a neighbor called. My home needed help and all it received was hurt. #AnimalCruelty pic.twitter.com/0tnNbSulodNovember 30, 2021
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One Facebook user wrote: "Do y'all train officers to beat animals or is that just the POS Chambers agenda? Makes ya wonder how many times this has happened before. Dude needs to be fired and charged. Truly sickening."
Another neitizan added: "Curious if your officer that beat a poor dog in a video circulating all over Facebook is still working for you? Absolutely disgusting! I pray that poor baby is ok, this officer is terminated for animal abuse and the owners sue like crazy!"
But a spokesperson for the Terre Haute Police Department said the video and attached comment do not tell the full story and that officers were called to the residence to investigate an aggressive white Pit Bull not a burglary.
In a statement issued on their Facebook page alongside their own video, the department claims that the dispatch center had received a call to say that the dog had been "charging at everyone that goes by. RP advised that he has bitten a child and a mailman in the past and is very very aggressive." Watch the officer's bodycam footage below.
The department also said that this was not the first time they’d had to investigate complaints around the Pit Bull in the video, stating they’d attended the property for the same reason the year before.
"A check revealed that on May 2, 2020, at approximately 7:50 p.m., officers were sent to the same address for a white pit bull that had bitten an 11-year-old girl."
"At that time, officers reported that an adult female resident had indicated that her daughter had left the gate open and the dog had gotten out and went after the juvenile victim. The adult female was cited for Failure to Restrain a Dog Resulting in Bite or Attack."
The department went on to say that a formal investigation has been launched into the incident and the officer placed on administrative duties, although the owner of the Pit Bull does not wish to press charges.
"While the conduct in the video has been determined by the prosecutor to not constitute a crime by the officer and the body camera footage is in sharp contrast to the original social media narrative, we will still be objectively evaluating the conduct to see if it violates any departmental policies or directives."
Regardless of whether or not the officer is cleared of any wrongdoing, there’s strong feeling amongst the public that his actions were inappropriate with one Facebook user writing: "The officer noticed the dog was cornered on the porch and went in to attack. He had many options available to him, and he chose the option where he could inflict the most damage.”
