I’m not in Arizona, I’m in California but if I did that to my dog I’d be in jail and criminal charges would be pressed. In California it would be felony animal neglect if your dog died that way. What are Arizona animal cruelty laws? Looking the subject up on line it certainly looks like this officer is guilty of violation of a number of Arizona laws: http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/dawson/cruelty/az_cruel.htm Section 12-2910 applies to police dogs since they are working animals. It looks like in Arizona it’s only a class 1 misdemeanor which as I understand it is the most serious level of misdemeanor since the behavior as described appears reckless. It looks to me like he violated section A1, A3, A4, A7 and probably A6 since the city is the owner of the working animal If he violated A7 it’s a felony and that’s similar what’s charged here in California if you leave a dog in a car in 100 degree weather and it dies. I’m not a lawyer but not charging him raises some interesting questions.
Arizona Cruelty to Animals Statutes
ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES
TITLE 13. CRIMINAL CODE
CHAPTER 29. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER
§ 13-2910. Cruelty to animals; interference with working or service animal; classification; definitions
A. A person commits cruelty to animals if the person does any of the following:
1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly subjects any animal under the person’s custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment.
2. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly fails to provide medical attention necessary to prevent protracted suffering to any animal under the person’s custody or control.
3. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal.
4. Recklessly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment.
5. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly kills any animal under the custody or control of another person without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.
6. Recklessly interferes with, kills or harms a working or service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.
7. Intentionally or knowingly subjects any animal under the person’s custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment that results in serious physical injury to the animal.
8. Intentionally or knowingly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment.
9. Intentionally or knowingly interferes with, kills or harms a working or service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.
B. It is a defense to subsection A of this section if:
1. Any person exposes poison to be taken by a dog which has killed or wounded livestock or poison to be taken by predatory animals on premises owned, leased or controlled by the person for the purpose of protecting the person or the person’s livestock or poultry, and the treated property is kept posted by the person who authorized or performed the treatment until the poison has been removed, and the poison is removed by the person exposing the poison after the threat to the person, or the person’s livestock or poultry has ceased to exist. The posting required shall provide adequate warning to persons who enter the property by the point or points of normal entry. The warning notice which is posted shall be readable at a distance of fifty feet, shall contain a poison statement and symbol and shall state the word “danger” or “warning”.
2. Any person uses poisons in and immediately around buildings owned, leased or controlled by the person for the purpose of controlling wild and domestic rodents as otherwise allowed by the laws of the state, excluding any fur- bearing animals as defined in § 17-101.
Those laws are for the serfs, not the masters.