Baltimore police officer charged with slitting throat of dog that had already been contained
BY JUSTIN GEORGE June 18 at 7:59 PM

A Baltimore police officer slit the throat of a dog that officers had already detained and now faces felony animal cruelty charges, the department said Wednesday.

The department’s Internal Affairs division is investigating the incident, which police Deputy Commissioner Dean Palmere called “outrageous and unacceptable” at a news conference. Officials say they learned of the dog’s killing Monday, two days after it occurred.

Other officers who witnessed the incident have been forthcoming with details, police say, but investigators are trying to determine whether any of them should have disclosed the incident immediately.

The killing of the 7-year-old Shar-Pei named Nala came a day after a Baltimore police officer shot to death a steer in Mount Vernon after it had escaped a slaughterhouse and evaded capture for about 2 miles. That incident is also under department investigation, but officials have defended the officer’s use of force in that case.

In the case of the dog’s death, Baltimore police

Officer charged with killing dog set out to 'gut' it, witnesses said


Nala is pictured with her owner, Sarah Gossard, of Canton. The 7-year-old dog was killed recently when a Baltimore police officer slit her throat with a knife, police said. (Courtesy Sarah Gossard / June 18, 2014)
By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun
10:47 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2014

<snip>

....The officer, identified as Jeffrey Bolger, 49, was booked Wednesday.
Witnesses at the scene told police that Bolger, who has worked in the department's Special Operations Section since 1992, was talking about killing the animal as he got out of his vehicle.

"I'm going to [expletive] gut this thing," witnesses heard him say, according to the charging document.

After another officer managed to gain control of it, Bolger cut its throat with a knife, witnesses told police. The animal bled out before Animal Control arrived, police said.

Other officers at the scene have been forthcoming with details, police say, but investigators are trying to determine whether the incident should have been disclosed sooner. Investigators didn't learn of the killing until Monday — two days afterward.

"Completely unnecessary, completely cruel, no patience," said the dog's owner, Sarah Gossard of Canton....