CORNELIUS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- The Cornelius Police Department has deemed that its officer who responded to a dog left in a hot car was in the wrong for his viral interaction with the woman who helped the animal.
This lead to a suspension and department retraining using information provided by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The incident occurred the afternoon of June 7, in a Wendy’s parking lot off West Catawba Avenue on a day that reached 91 degrees in Charlotte. A woman, Suzanne Vella, noticed a dog being left inside a pickup truck, then opened the unlocked door and gave it water.
Police say based on surveillance footage, the truck arrived in the parking lot just after 2 p.m., and after the owner went into the restaurant, his son walked the dog and gave it water before joining his father inside. Approximately three to five minutes passed before Vella arrived and called 911.
The dog owner returned five minutes later, and the police officer arrived five minutes after that.
The owner told the officer that he didn’t want to press charges against Vella; she says he just told her to “mind your business.”
Vella filmed herself helping the dog, as well as her interaction with the responding officer, who asked her about breaking into the truck. The video of this incident shows that the windows of the truck were approximately 2-3 inches down.
“You know, it was really upsetting,” Vella told Queen City News the next week. “The police officer got all of my information and gave me a lecture about it but said virtually nothing to the owner.”
After investigations into the actions of Vella with and the officer, the department determined the way the call was handled “was not consistent with the way our officers treat the public or the core values of our agency.”
Given the results, the officer was given an unpaid suspension from his duties as an active K9 handler. Further, every Cornelius officer will receive additional training on the statute that governs the ability of first responders to enter a vehicle to protect the health and safety of an animal.
The criminal investigation was presented to the Magistrate’s Office, and no probable cause was found for charging the owner of the dog with cruelty to animals.
“While this statute does not authorize non-first responders to enter a vehicle, in this incident, there was no intent to commit a crime, and therefore, there was no violation of the law,” police said.
The department says the chief has apologized personally to Vella. They also have corresponded with PETA and obtained information from them on the dangers of leaving animals in vehicles.
The organization said it would present Vella with a Compassionate Action Award.
Cornelius PD says it also will help coordinate public service announcements using the information provided by PETA to bring awareness to this issue.
“This has been a learning experience, and we want everyone to know our agency can and will do better with how we respond to these types of calls in the future,” police said.
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