Home security camera captures Indiana police officer repeatedly kicking dog
Police said they received a call about an "aggressive white pit bull" that had been "charging at everyone that goes by"
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- A home security camera captured an officer repeatedly kicking a dog in Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 29.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
Footage from Haley Richey's Ring camera shows an officer climb up the steps to her porch and then kick the animal multiple times. "I can't wrap my head around how easy it was to approach my dogs the way they were," Richey said.
Police in Terre Haute released bodycam footage and a lengthy statement on December 1 in response to Richey's video.
"While the Ring video depicts approximately 76 seconds of this call showing officers entering the porch to try and make contact with the dog owners, the body camera video depicts 1 hour and 13 minutes of time for this call," the post said in part.
At approximately 7 p.m., the Vigo County Central Dispatch received a call complaining of an "aggressive white pit bull" that had been "charging at everyone that goes by."
The person reporting the incident said that this was "an ongoing problem." After completing a check, police said they found that officers were sent to the same address a year prior after a white pit bull had bitten an 11-year-old girl.
The body camera footage shows one white and one brown dog behaving aggressively towards the officer, barking and jumping up at him. The officer can be heard repeatedly saying "get away" as the dogs bark at him. When the dogs become more aggressive, he can be heard saying "I'll kick your f***ing a**, you stupid f***ing dog." The dog can then be heard squealing as it's kicked on the porch.
"Based on this shared narrative and brief segment of video, we absolutely understand the perception and outrage expressed by many. We hold the highest regard for our police K9s and consider them all part of our family. Many of us have our own animals and would no more want to see them hurt than our own children," police said in the post.
The officer can also be seen speaking to a neighbor, who says the dogs were "scary."
Police said a male resident claimed his home had been broken into and that was how the dogs escaped from the yard. They said the claim was "under investigation" but that a person in the home was cited for two counts of a non-immunized animal, two counts of dangerous animal prohibited, and two counts of animal restraint.
The incident was also investigated by the Vigo County Prosecutor's Office, who said the officer had not committed a crime. Police said they would evaluate "the conduct to see if it violates any departmental policies or directives" and that the "sergeant will be placed on administrative duty assignment."
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this post.
