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
I guess what wasn’t clear was whether the back yard was fully enclosed or not. If it wasn’t, she did what I consider reasonable, leave the dog on a long enough tether to be able to move around, but not get off the back yard. One should be able to be safe in one’s own backyard, whether you are a person or a dog.
But the sheriff still had no business in the back yard, he just left his card at the front door, he could have done that to begin with, instead of going to the back yard, where the dog was. Also, since the dog was tied up, he could see how far the dog can go and as long as he stayed out of that range, he was in no danger from the dog. So there is no justification for what he did.
Didn't know that but there are invisible fences.
Doc has a point.
If the little jack-booted, yellow-bellied, glob of maggot vomit had to pay for all of this _out of his own pocket_, I bet he’d think thrice about zapping another dog.
And so would his cronies.
True, but those are not always effective.
For instance: if someone digs somewhere, cutting into the invisible fence, it is rendered ineffective.
If you have a dog with thick fur around the neck (think the northern, spitz breeds, in particular), the ‘shock’ will be diminished, and the dog may decide to “make a run for it” and bolt outside the yard.
Yes, it is overblown. Agreed.
Sometimes the cops are in the wrong, sometimes not. But just because we see it in the papers doesn’t mean it’s representative. How many stories are we going to see about the cops who ferretted home a straying pet while on their rounds? Yup, 0. So it seems like cops are bad because ONLY BAD NEWS IS PRINTED.
I was further informed that the deputy had every legal right to be on the property and had a right to defend himself
Only if it is a FELONY WARRANT, and they need a search warrant also. A failure to appear is a misdemeanor the last time I looked, Call them on their bullshit Lies and get a Lawyer.
Fair enough.
However, if these instances were truly so rare, so horrific even to the “law enforcement community”, they would be a lot harsher with their own than they are clearly being.
Not willing to argue the merits of his actions, just trying to point back to my original post ... condemning all police because of a few idiots (in a group consisting of over 800K members) is just wrong and all I’m trying to say. Yet many here are more than willing to do so. That’s what I find sad.
From what I have seen and heard, cops tend to be always looking for probable cause, and hence sneaking around looking for it. Have had them reach into my car when I was younger and pop my glove compartment open. Too young to know that was illegal, and the cops knew that too. Protesting would likely be seen as probable cause if you are young.
Their "culture" of constantly looking for something to escalate on has had the effect of alienation growing larger by the day.
“I want to know why the dep was poking around the back yard”
Because he could.
They already implied that.
None of us have any private *anything* anymore.
The State has the right to use/abuse whatever they see fit, in the name of the law.
AMEN!
If such events were so truly rare and so truly limited to a small percentage of officers, the the “law enforcement community” should have no trouble being much harsher (firing, jail time, appropriate fines) with the offenders and should have no cause or excuse to defend them in any “internal audit”.
Well, there you are!
Nothing to see here citizen, move along now...........
But it’s not good. Neither for the dog NOR possibly innocent bystanders.
I have a long story relating to dogs left outside completely unsupervised, albeit “restrained”. I gave the owner an earload of how those dogs were not only a threat to us but how he was basically abusing them at the same time.
But...but...but...these events are limited to a very small subset of officers.
They wouldn’t *possibly* defend this.
< /sarc >
This is what I’d be hammering on.
It’s not as if he was on a manhunt. Just “serving”. No reason for him to do anything but wait at the front door. Then he left his card!
Not in the backyard for no good reason, no need to taser a tehtered dog.
This has got to stop.
Which are totally useless if you have a fast dog or any kind of sight/scent hound.
They will spot ‘prey’ and be across that barrier so fast they’ll never even feel a tingle.
I know tons of Sight Hound/Hound people.
They do not use invisible fence....more than once.
Aside from all that, cops have shot dogs wearing fence collars inside their own yards because they ‘didn’t see a collar’ and assumed the dog was running loose and They Felt Threatened®.
...or any of the spitz breeds (thick fur around the neck); even if you shave the fur down, it will grow back quickly and the dog will likely ignore the shock and “make a run for it” again.
So, what you are saying is that all cops are a$$holes and we should do away with the concept of a police force.
Would be like condemning the entire military for the acts of a few idiots.
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