Posted on 06/21/2013 7:03:06 PM PDT by Altariel
When Rebecka Brown returned home June 5, she noticed a business card stuck in her door.
That card was from Det. Joey Cooper, a deputy with the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office.
“Naturally I called the number immediately to find out why an officer had been here,” she wrote on a Facebook page.
Det. Cooper told her he was there to serve a warrant to her husband for failure to appear in court in relation to a ticket he had received while hunting. She also found out something horrifying.
“He then told me he had to tase my dog.”
When she asked why, Brown says Det. Cooper told her that Merlin, the family’s year-old lab/boxer mix, had attacked him. “I asked him if he was okay… I was in complete shock! He said he was fine, not so much as a scratch on him.”
[Note: Merlin was attached to a 10' lead in the backyard, not roaming freely.]
“He instructed me that the taser did not shock Merlin because only one prong made a connection with him,” she said adding that Det. Cooper told her how to remove the prong. When the call ended, she went to check on her wounded pup. “Merlin wouldn’t let me near him. I could see the prong protruding from his back but but he just cowered and whined,” she said.
After several attempts to coax Merlin over so she could remove the prong, she noticed something strange about his eye. “There was a little blood under the lid of his right eye and the eyeball itself resembled an old rubber party balloon.” After she and a friend removed the prong she noticed his eyeball was ripped open.
Brown said she immediately called Det. Cooper back but got his voicemail. She then called the Sheriff’s Office to report her dog’s injuries. An hour later, she says two deputies showed up to investigate. 
“They asked to see Merlin, so I took them inside to him,” she said. “As soon as he saw them, he cowered to the side, wimpered, and started to visibly shake. The deputy took a step towards him and Merlin started to growl. He was responding to the uniform… I informed the deputy that this is not his normal behavior and that he is responding out of fear. A uniform, just like theirs, had seriously injured him…. he was afraid of another round with that uniform!”
She believes the eye injury was caused by either a flashlight or a nightstick.
Brown’s quest for accountability continued.
I tried to file a formal complaint with the Sheriff’s Department and I was shuffled away. I went to the magistrate to press charges for animal cruelty and I was told that I couldn’t because he is a law enforcement officer!!! So, I went to the district attorneys office to lodge a complaint and get an investigation underway. I was directed to the SBI (State Bureau of Investigation).”
She has also taken to the internet for justice starting a website, a Facebook page and a petition. On the Justice for Merlin Facebook page, Brown has been updating those interested in her “roadblocks” with law enforcement and the justice system, as well as Merlin’s recovery.
After multiple calls to District Attorney Scott Thomas, an internal investigation was finally started. On Wednesday, Brown says she was visited by Sheriff Asa Buck and an internal affairs officer.
Following the meeting she posted:
Both the sheriff and internal affairs feel that the investigation revealed that the deputy is without fault. He stated that he was afraid when he and Merlin met in my back yard and that the Deputy is thankful that he grabbed the taser rather than his firearm. I was further informed that the deputy had every legal right to be on the property and had a right to defend himself. They do not believe that the deputy entered my back yard with the intent of harming Merlin and that Merlin’s injuries are an unfortunate situation. After Merlin is done with all of his vet visits, I am to inform the department and they will see about getting the bills paid.
…
I honestly don’t know how I feel about all this. I’m angry that my dog was hurt. I’m very angry that my dog will never regain full sight in that eye. I’m hurt that my children are affected by this to the point that they tell me they are afraid of cops. I’m angry that the use of tasers on animals is endorsed by our county. The county considers this matter closed.
…
I’ve never known the sheriff to be anything but honorable. I am so confused and hurt.
Begin rant:
Justified? Afraid of a dog that was tied up?
There is not justification for harming an animal if you just get spooked. The deputy, according to Brown, admitted that he didn’t have a scratch on him. So how can this assault be justified?
If it had not been a law enforcement officer, the individual responsible for the injuries to Merlin would be brought up on animal cruelty charges. But because of the incestuous investigation, the perp gets to walk.
The Department shouldn’t have to compensate for the vet bills…the individual who committed the act should be the responsible party. Badges don’t grant extra rights and individuals are responsible for their own actions.
End rant.
Carteret County Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff Asa Buck
304 Craven Street
Beaufort, NC 28516
(252) 504-4800
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No legal reason.
Honest men and women go to the front door of a residence, to approach a residence legally if they have business there.
Men and women with dishonest motives enter backyards without the homeowner’s permission or leave.
“Woman, I said “where’s my sandwich?”
“Where is it? Where? Where? Where?”
-—Odhinn
:)
I wish it were something that chauvinistic...it’s not.
“Where’s my mommy? Where is she? Where? Where? Where?!?!”
/aaaaaaaaaahhhhooooooooooooooooooeeeee!
Time to turn the beasts out, back in and drop off to sleep.
Long day.
Long tomorrow.
Night y’all.
:)
Nite to you and your pack. Hubby included.
:)
“So, what you are saying is that all cops are a$$holes and we should do away with the concept of a police force.”
No, you are creating a straw dog by using hyperbole. What needs to happen is to train cops not to kill a citizen’s pet just because they can. There has to be a balanced approach for cops to deal with dogs that they are afraid of. First, they need to learn not to be afraid of every dog they are around or that growls at them. Then they should use reasonable force if they they are actually approached by a dog. Cops should be taught that they are not justified in killing every dog that comes close to them.
My dogs are in my home with me, I have a kennel outside and a place to tie up a dog if need be. I use each option depending on what is going on. I don’t as a rule tie up a dog- but have been known to temporarily do so. Difference is I don’t think it is my business how others care for their dog unless I know it is being abused. As to far fetched ideas of dogs burning up in houses I have actually known it to happen twice. One of our friends had a little dog in the house and a big dog tied up outside when their house burned to the ground. They tried to get the little dog out of the house but it hid under the bed and burned up. Another time the dog burned up in the house while the owner was at work. It is not far fetched to say a dog may not be perfectly safe inside the home.
I never said it was my business. I said it was my opinion. And if you do a little online research about this incident, you'll find she was returning home from work when she found the business card; presumably the dog was tied up outside all day.
"As to far fetched ideas of dogs burning up in houses I have actually known it to happen twice."
And I can't begin to count the number of times I'm personally aware of where some ill has befallen a dog that was left tied and unsupervised. I'd bet if you ask around the employees and volunteers at your local shelters and animal rescue organizations, they'll know of far more dogs that have been killed or suffered great harm while tied up outside than have been killed in housefires of floods because they couldn't get out of a house.
I never said a dog would be "perfectly safe" in a house. Just that all things being equal, the dog will be safer inside. It seems to me that a responsible dog owner would want the safer of the two options. Maye you can think of a reason a responsible dog owner would want his dog in the more perilous situation. I can't.
You never keep dogs, horses or children inside. Safety first! Plain buildings, with adequate cover, water and feed- is all they need. Maybe some hay & blankies, around winter.
During Katrina, the dogs left in houses generally made it to top floors and survived.
None of the dogs on chains could beat the flood waters.
To this day, the memory of those images horrify me.
I cannot imagine the terror they felt.
[then again, when I leave the house, I can monitor my dogs via network cams on my iPhone..yeah, I’m that crazy]
“You never keep dogs, horses or children inside”
Well...that explains my childhood.
I just thought my parents were weird.
Yup. The fancy folks and their kin, were the weirdos. Dang.
Invisible fences do not always work. I’ve known two dogs (a Boxer and a Pit mix) who, if they wanted out badly enough, would simply charge through and take the hit. Another (a Border Collie, natch) would get close enough to the “fence” to get the collar to continuously beep but not actually deliver a shock. After the battery ran down (and the beeping stopped), she would simply walk through the “fence.”
Carteret County and Beaufort (we pronounce it correctly, btw, BOW-fert) are coastal and thus overrun with Jersey, NoVa and DC people. You have to get to the rural areas on the coastal plain to feel all that southern anymore, much like Florida.
Smartie.
It screws up a formerly nice place so bad people have to leave. But instead of the disease dying then and there, unfortunately, take the disease with them to their new home, eventually screwing it up too.
Marx didn't invent evil. He just gave it a very effective tool set for building a bigger, badder Beast.
You say it is only your opinion; but I wonder if you would support a law against tying dogs up...that is why we have so many laws. It is wrong to abuse dogs or any other animal, after that it is up to the owner how to keep their dog. I am tired of well meaning people thinking they have the answer for everyone else. You said you didn’t tell anyone what to do but you zeroed in on the dog being tied up and it really isn’t any of your business. I know bad things happen to many dogs that are tied up, also to dogs that are kenneled and even in the house. It is called responsibility and some people just don’t have it.
You assume this lady ties her dog up 24/7 and neglects it. I look at the dog and it looks well cared for, too slick and shiny to be missing shelter, be too hot, no water, etc. In other words I don’t see a problem with her dog so I don’t care how she keeps him. You have no way of knowing if the lady works part-time or anything else about her and jumped to conclusion after conclusion about how she cares for her dog. The only thing I noticed about her dog is it seems a tad overweight...likely from people food but that is not my business and I notice you didn’t comment on that part of how she cares for her dog, though obesity is a problem for dogs too.
It’s not entirely different.
The fence may present fewer problems to that dog, but he’s still open to abuse, AND can also get loose and cause havoc. Fences rot and break, some dogs can’t wait for an opening, and destroy it, etc.
No dog should ever be left outside unsupervised. I understand if there are extenuating circumstances, but as a habit they should never be left outside with none of their people around.
I noticed a Taser dart in his back and a wounded eyeball. I guess you missed those. I'll bet you the dog wouldn't have had suffered either of those if the dog had been kept in the house while she was at work.
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