Police officers’ dereliction of duty under the Fourth Amendment results in a $16 million civil lawsuit and a dog’s death

Lawyer for the victims delivers a press conference about the $16 million lawsuit against this police department for violating the victims' rights under the Fourth Amendment and other matters.
Lawyer for the victims delivers a press conference. Screenshot.

NEWS AND COMMENT: The basics in this Fox News story are pretty straightforward. Three police officers in Prince George’s County, Maryland, USA, entered an apartment unlawfully because they had failed to obtain a warrant where they shot a dog twice and tasered the dog. The dog was fatally harmed and euthanised.

The three police officers were in the apartment because there had been a report of two dogs biting a woman.

We don’t know why the officers chose this particular apartment in which there was one dog. They might have got the wrong place. It seems that they had. They knocked on the door and nobody answered.

They got keys from the apartment complex administrator/worker and entered the apartment without a warrant as is mandated under the Fourth Amendment of the United States of America.

Inside the apartment were three residents and one dog, Hennessy. Two officers had entered the apartment and a third joined them.

As one officer was leaving a bedroom Hennessy appeared. She was shot twice by one or two officers and tasered by another causing fatal harm and ultimately euthanasia.

“It was a nightmare. I held Henney’s body, bloody body, while she was dying in her arms, while the rest of her family was wrongfully detained and denied the ability to check on her.”

Sanchez – one of the apartment occupants

There is no report that anybody was arrested and charged. And the report does not state that Hennessy was the dog that bit the woman. We have no idea whether they were the right place or whether they killed the right dog. In fact, there was no need to kill the dog in the first place even if the dog had bitten somebody.

This is an acute case of overreaction by poorly trained police officers who were nervous and lacked common sense. And they seem to have lacked basic knowledge about the requirement to obtain a warrant. This can only be put down to inadequate training.

“The lawsuit alleged that after killing Henney, the officers then detained the residents despite no crimes having been committed. An internal police trial board found that the officers engaged in conduct that was unbecoming of an officer.”

Report by Nathan Winograd, the animal advocate

As a consequence, they unjustly violated the rights of the occupants of the apartment concerned which, incidentally, is located in Allison Street, who have commenced a civil lawsuit against the Prince George’s County Police Department for $16 million in compensation, which includes damages for the unjust killing of Hennessy.

The incident occurred on June 2, 2021. The officers have not been sacked but have been disciplined in various ways. Police have a habit of killing dogs unnecessarily.

2 thoughts on “Police officers’ dereliction of duty under the Fourth Amendment results in a $16 million civil lawsuit and a dog’s death”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Everyday all over the USA cops kill pets for no good reason! I’ve seen cops call to loose dogs and then shoot them. I’ve seen dogs run away from cops and get shot in the back. I’ve seen cops shoot 5 pound Chihuahua’s. I’ve seen cops shoot dogs in their own yards, some tethered. I’ve seen cops shoot dogs in the head and tossed in a pile behind shelter run by the cops. But cops have no problem sicking their dog on people minding their own business. And I once saw a cop shoot and kill 4 itty bitty kittens in front of 3 tiny children screaming. I even read a story where one cops adopted a dog from a no kill shelter, took him to the river 5 days later and shot him in the head. Cops are a danger to pets and people! Kill first ask questions later is their motto and the hell with the search warrant!

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