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K-9 Police Dog Abuse

2 Hialeah police dogs found dead in officer’s vehicle
Miami Herald
May 28, 2015

 

Two Hialeah police dogs died Wednesday when their handler apparently left them in his vehicle after returning to his Davie home from work, according to authorities.

 

The police K-9 dogs were identified as Jimmy, a 7-year-old bloodhound, and Hector, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois.

 

Hialeah officer Nelson Enriquez, a 13-year veteran of the force, was relieved of duty while the investigation proceeds.

 

Enriquez arrived home early Wednesday after his midnight shift. When he discovered the dead dogs in the evening, he called Davie police, said Hialeah police spokesman Carl Zogby.

"The Hialeah Police Department is extremely saddened by this unfortunate occurrence and every effort will be made to determine the cause of this terrible tragedy which claimed the lives of two very beloved members of our Hialeah Police family," Zogby said.

 

A preliminary investigation determined that Enriquez left the dogs in his marked police vehicle parked in his home driveway, Zogby said.

 

Davie police Sgt. Pablo Castaneda said his department got a call Wednesday night from the home and found the two dogs.

 

Jimmy, the bloodhound, was donated to the Hialeah Police Department by the Jimmy Ryce Center for Victims of Predatory Abduction seven years ago.

 

"I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of two remarkable police dogs," said Don Ryce, whose son, murdered in 1995 in South Miami-Dade, is the namesake of the foundation.

 

The police SUV was towed from the driveway. Davie police are leading the investigation while Hialeah will conduct an internal inquiry.

 

Enriquez has been a K-9 handler for seven years.

 

Police officers in Miami-Dade have been arrested in the past for the unnatural deaths of their K-9 partners.

 

In March 2008, Miami Police Officer Rondal Brown was arrested for animal cruelty after the starvation death of his department bloodhound, Dynasty. The dog — which also was donated to the department by the Jimmy Ryce Foundation — was discovered starved with "an emaciated, wasted corpse."

 

Brown later left police work and agreed to serve probation.

 

In 2007, Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Allen Cockfield was charged with animal cruelty after prosecutors said he fatally kicked his German shepherd, Duke, during a training session.

 

A Miami-Dade jury later acquitted Cockfield at trial. Read more

 

Duke Didn't Deserve to Die Like This!

Duke

Jurors acquit ex-Miami-Dade cop accused of killing K-9 partner

BY DAVID OVALLE

The Miami Herald

July 31, 2010

 

A former Miami-Dade police sergeant is not guilty of kicking his police dog to death in June 2006, jurors decided Friday.

 

They acquitted Allen Cockfield, 55, of misdemeanor animal cruelty.

Cockfield was originally charged with both animal cruelty and a felony count of a killing a police dog, which could have cost him his law enforcement certificate. But the judge in the case threw out the felony count Thursday.

 

Prosecutors contended that Cockfield, a longtime K-9 officer, viciously and fatally kicked his Belgian Malinois named Duke during a session at the department's training bureau.

 

But defense lawyer Douglas Hartman argued the case was a "freak training accident,'' and that Cockfield was simply defending himself from an overaggressive animal bent on attacking him.

 

Hartman prevailed even before the final verdict: Prosecutors, after presenting their case, acknowledged Thursday that they had not proved Cockfield intended to kill Duke. Circuit Judge Antonio Arzola, at Hartman's request, tossed out the felony charge. But he declined to toss out the animal cruelty charge.

Duke

Miami-Dade judge throws out felony charge vs. police officer in K-9 death

BY DAVID OVALLE
The Miami Herald, July 29, 2010

A judge on Thursday tossed out a felony charge against a former Miami-Dade police sergeant on trial for allegedly killing his police dog, but allowed a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge to go forward. Allen Cockfield is accused of viciously kicking his K-9 partner, Duke, during a training session in June 2006, killing the Belgian Malinois. He was charged with a felony count of killing a police dog, and a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

Fla. K-9 handler facing cruelty charges

By David Ovalle
March 10, 2008
The Miami Herald.com

MIAMI — Miami Officer Rondal Brown, suspected of allowing his police dog to starve to death, will surrender Monday morning to face criminal charges.

Brown, a popular veteran K-9 handler, had been relieved of duty as police internal affairs detectives and prosecutors probed the death of Dynasty, a 4-year-old bloodhound that specialized in finding missing persons.

Cruelty to animals, Wikipedia