Harrisonburg citizens must demand better from their government and news media

A story recently appeared in the news about an act of violence to an innocent animal so horrifying in its mercilessness that I could not even read the entire thing in one sitting. And, here is the most shocking part – this cold-hearted abuse was not committed by a dog fighter or a puppy miller but by a Harrisonburg police officer and the Harrisonburg Police Department is protecting him.

Here is the story. The evening of Nov. 11, a man saw a cat get hit by a car in Harrisonburg. He stopped and took the injured cat home with him. He said that, even though the cat was seriously injured, she was very gentle and sweet. He called the nearest emergency veterinary hospital, 30 miles away in Verona, Va., and was advised that he should call Harrisonburg Animal Control for a quicker response. As it was after hours, he was then instructed to call the police department. An officer was dispatched and arrived in about 30 minutes. The officer told him that there were two choices – the cat could be allowed to suffer and die or could be “put down.” It appears that taking the cat to a veterinarian for care was not even considered as an option by this cop. (Bear in mind that the cat had now survived her injuries for quite some time and it might have been possible for her life to have been saved.) The man said that he thought putting the cat down was preferable. He then went inside and, to his horror, saw, through the window, the cop remove his baton and then bludgeon the cat to death. He reported that it took 15 to 20 hits and the cop was so violent that blood was splattered everywhere and he even damaged the siding on the house. He was, as anyone would have been, sickened and dismayed by the cop’s brutality.

So, as if that is not enough to horrify and nauseate anyone, it gets even worse. The cop is now being protected by the Harrisonburg Police Department who says that it is an “internal matter” and will not release the name of the officer. Their spokesperson will not even confirm if any disciplinary action was taken. They do say that he acted in accordance with their regulations in using deadly force – although from my reading of their rules, I cannot see how they can justify this. They claim that they are reviewing their regulations, however, for possible revisions. Really? I would suggest that they need to review a lot more than their regulations – they need to review their ethics, compassion and sense of morality.

Then, the final stunner is that the local newspaper the Harrisonburg Daily News Record and several of the local TV news reports have actually said that the cop “euthanized” the cat by beating her to death with a night stick. How could anyone ever use the word “euthanize” in such a totally offensive way? I see people in animal welfare all the time misuse the word “euthanize” as a way of relieving themselves of discomfort but surely we are not at a point when we use that word to refer to an act of intentional violence such as what this cop did.

There is so much that is deeply disturbing here. The most obvious thing is, of course, the cold-hearted and intentional brutality of the cop’s actions against a defenseless animal that presented no threat to him whatsoever. But, equally troubling is the attitude of the Police Department and the City of Harrisonburg that it is their right to keep the information from their citizens – the citizens who elect them and pay their salaries. One must wonder whether the cop who did the deed is the only one involved or if the instruction to brutalize the cat was given at a higher level and that is why the wall of defense has gone up.

And, lastly, where is the local news media in all this? I doubt very seriously that they have not been able to ascertain the identity of the cop who did this terrible thing. They certainly should if they are worth their salt as journalists. They also should be able to discover who made the decision to do such a horrible thing – was it the cop alone or someone else instructing him? It is the role of the news media to insure that the public gets the true facts and that governments are not allowed to hide behind secrecy in a pretense that it is an internal matter which most clearly it is not.

I sincerely hope that people in Harrisonburg will demand better from their city government and their Police Department and their local news media. The citizens of Harrisonburg, whether or not they love animals, must see the horrible issues that this matter raises about their police and their city government. It rests with the citizens to see that the Police Department’s efforts to withhold the facts are not tolerated and that steps are taken to protect both the animals and the people of their city from more such violence being perpetrated by the very people who are supposed to protect them. A lack of transparency and a lack of accountability is never a healthy thing for any community. Justice Brandeis quite correctly said that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” In Harrisonburg, both the people and the animals have a great deal to fear from the very people whom they should be able to trust. Some sunlight on these horrifying facts would go a long way toward making their community more compassionate in the future for both people and animals.

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name. 

Comments

[Lee Anne Holdren]

I think I'm going to be sick. No attempt even made to see if this was someone's pet? It sure seems as though something besides 'compassion' was motivating this police officer to commit this brutal and sadistic act. This is not the kind of person that Harrisonburg citizens should want anywhere near law enforcement.

[Becci Harmon]

I am not a resident of the city of Harrisonburg, but I did receive 2 responses to emails sent to city council members. The first: As I mentioned at our Council meeting on Tuesday, a) I have not communicated with anyone at any level who thinks this was acceptable, and b) as sad as this situation is, it appears some good should come of it. Our police officers are considerably better versed now on how to deal with these situations, including the availability of emergency veterinarian services. In short, everyone gets it that these events reflect poorly on the entire City, not just the officer directly involved. The second: The City takes this matter very seriously. As you probably know, the Commonwealth’s Attorney generally makes the decisions regarding bringing charges. That being said, it is unlikely in my mind that any criminal prosecution is legally viable under these circumstances. The police department, human resources, animal control and the city manager are handling this matter at this time
In other words...NOTHING will be done.

[A. L. Mason]

This kind of attitude and response (or lack of response) is commonplace in my county. The idea of AC taking an injured animal to a vet clinic is unheard of. Our shelter has only recently taken the step of providing vaccines (not including rabies as there is no veterinary service) to all incoming animals. As one who has spoken up to openly and pragmatically address the severe inadequacies in our county's animal management system, I have only been targeted and labeled as a trouble-maker and have found little support among community members. If there is any effective assistance available in Virginia that can facilitate the efforts of those seeking to address such grievances in their communities I would be grateful for the reference.

[Elizabeth Ralston]

I live about 30 minutes from Harrisonburg, grew up just outside of town. Even with tremendous response from the community they are working hard to sweep it under the rug and hope it goes away. What I find equally disturbing is the total lack of concern from the head of the Harrisonburg /Rockingham SPCA who was initially "outraged" yet immediately backed off after meeting with the police department and deemed the internal investigation satisfactory, investigation and discipline the public will not be privy to. Please help us keep up the push to have this officer fired and charged with animal cruelty.