Costa Rican Police Officers Face Court Over Alleged Dog Killing Incident

The Tico Times ^

[nickcarraway]

Four police officers in Costa Rica appeared in court in San José this Wednesday, accused of killing a dog after running it over with their patrol cars. They could face sentences of up to three years in prison for the incident. At the courthouse entrance, several animal rights advocates were protesting as they awaited the arrival of the accused.

The incident occurred on August 9th in a neighborhood in the eastern part of the Costa Rican capital when the officers, in two police vehicles, were trying to exit a blocked street and ran over a dog lying on the pavement. Neighbors who were on the street witnessed the event. The officers did not stop or show concern for the animal’s condition. The incident was recorded by a security camera.

The Association for Animal Welfare and Protection filed a complaint against the officers, accusing them of animal cruelty and the death of an animal. “No one is above the law,” said the director of the association, Juan Carlos Peralta. He hopes the officers will be sentenced to prison “to send a message to animal abusers about the consequences they face.” The officers were detained the day after the incident, administratively suspended from the Public Force (National Police), and are awaiting the court’s decision. In an interview published on the digital news outlet CRHoy.com, two of the officers claimed that “at no time did they notice the presence of the dog.”

[Fai Mao]

I am certainly happy that Costa Rico has its serious crime controlled so they have time to go after people that accidentally run over dogs

[EnderWiggin1970]

When I was down in El Salvador/Honduras/Guatemala last month, many times I saw dogs laying down right on the paved roads in the towns. They were just used to drivers going around them. But it’s easy to see how an inattentive or callous driver could just run them down.

[nickcarraway]

It’s not just in this country.