Cop Arrests Man, Forced Him to Leave Family Pet on the Side of the Freeway to Die

[Garion_55]

another day, another sickening story.




July 25, 2014

On July 13, Josie Garcia’s husband was pulled over by Houston PD for failure to use a turn signal.

The routine traffic stop lead to a search and prescription drugs belonging to the passenger were found. Both men were subsequently arrested and the SUV was impounded. Charges against her husband were dropped days later.

Unfortunately, Garcia’s 14 year old chihuahua, Guero, was along for the ride.

As the men were being taken into custody and the SUV towed, Guero was removed from the vehicle and left on the side of Highway 59.

Garcia’s husband plead with the officer to let him call someone to come get the dog or for the officer to call animal control, who’s shelter was only 2 blocks away.

The officer refused, claiming the dog would be fine.

For the next 3 days Garcia put up missing posters and searched for her beloved pet. Eventually, she received a call to let her know where he was.

Guero had been found, dead, on the side of the highway not far from where the men were pulled over. The elderly chihuahua was nearly blind from cataracts and had been hit by oncoming traffic.


Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/chihuahua-dead-driver-pulled-failure-turn-signal/#WIliKLzpiquK6BtS.99

[whathehell]

1. WTF is up with cops and animal abuse?...I thought most

men, not to mention people in general, liked dogs?

[redqueen]

4. Some think little to nothing of animals. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

14. Left unsaid --

The people themselves are increasingly being seen as domesticated animals to be kept docile and herded about.

[Louisiana1976]

61. That's right.

[whathehell]

51. Apparently not, and that is tragic. n/t

[Ash_F]

47. It is a good sign of a sociopath

Some professions attract certain types of people.

It is important for civilians to closely watch and regulate their police forces.

Oust the Chief/Sheriff, and see how fast things change at the agency.

[roguevalley]

56. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I hadn't opened this link but I was compelled, you know. To bear witness.

My dog now is a chihuahua rescue. I would HAUNT THEM! FOREVER!

[Louisiana1976]

62. If that happened to my pet I'd sue. Both the officer involved and the police dept.

[roguevalley]

63. I would. this man is dangerous

[get the red out]

58. I am sick of it

They should be fired for what they did to that precious little dog. Obviously that little dog was more benefit to this planet than those cops.

All I feel is complete hatred when I read stuff like this.

[yuiyoshida]

92. Agree..

Horrible. Those cops should be punished for this, some how.

[get the red out]

94. Fired

A cop shot his neighbor's elderly Lab here in central Kentucky a few months ago, saying he was going to get into his chickens when the old dog hadn't even gotten near them and was walking back to his own yard. The outcry was HUGE, and he lost his job. Maybe the tide will turn against these power-freaks. No one like this should serve on the police force, they would probably not think twice about leaving a person to die or shooting them.

[Enthusiast]

85. Nazi brown shirts don't like compassion or kindness of any kind.

[rdking647]

2. the cop should be fired at the very least

and charged with animal cruelty

[hamsterjill]

22. I agree.

Absolutely he should be charged with animal cruelty. Then fired without pension, etc.

[BrotherIvan]

33. Agreed!

These incidents keep happening because there are no repercussions. Instead of busting the teacher's unions for "bad teachers" we should be working on police unions for BAD COPS.

[lolly]

75. That seems to be the case

Last edited Wed Jul 30, 2014, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

The cops who do this obviously get a kick out of hurting living things. They can do this to dogs with no consequences.

I don't think for a minute the ones who do this wouldn't do it to humans if they knew they could get away with it.

[Enthusiast]

87. +1

[drynberg]

38. Yes, my thoughts exactly

[Enthusiast]

86. +1

[Jim__]

3. Unbelievable stupidity. I can't believe that's police procedure.

[whathehell]

53. I doubt that very much...I had a female friend who was a cop

and she LOVED animals to the max.

[Tetris_Iguana]

5. Another casualty of the drug war.

Also, police brutality, and dumbassery.

[IronGate]

9. No, that cops life doesn't need to be ended,

but he needs to be fired and charged with animal cruelty.

[redqueen]

7. Related

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2014/07/guero_josie_garcia_hpd.php

I fucking adore chihuahuas. This breaks my heart

[Enthusiast]

88. 14 year old chihuahua.

[woo me with science]

99. [phone]

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. There is gonna be such a backlash from all this police brutality.

Not only from the victims of police contact but from the millions reading about this kind of behavior.

That poor dog.

[IronGate]

11. I couldn't agree with you more.

I interact with the police in my job capacity and most of them are nothing more than arrogant, steroid filled assholes who view the general public as serfs, yet they often wonder why they're viewed as occupiers.
Sooner or later there's going to be an epic backlash with tragic consequences for the cops.

[Comrade Grumpy]

16. Kinda sounds like Israel and the Palestinians....

[drmeow]

65. The sad part

is that there will probably be a louder and bigger stink made about this than about cops mistreating humans.

[frylock]

10. fuck tha police

[geardaddy]

12. Motherfuckers!!!!!

-signed pissed off Chihuahua dad.

[BlueJazz]

72. I understand. Things went through my head (when I read this story)...that I can't say on this forum.

I can say: I'd like to have a beer with that Cop.

[Enthusiast]

89. Me too.

[BlueJazz]

95. Yep..I suspect we're on the same wavelenth. Maybe we could BOTH have a beer with that cop.

[geardaddy]

96. Count me in.

[hughee99]

13. From the sounds of all the stories I've been reading about this sort of stuff lately,

we are approaching a day when a police officer will pull you over without cause, arrest you, sell your car and everything in it, shoot your dog and send you to a hospital for a very invasive cavity search before eventually releasing you without charges and telling you to "be more careful next time".

[Ed Suspicious]

15. Close. It seems these interactions always come with charges. Usually some sort

of trumped up obstruction charge. This is the cop's justification.

[hughee99]

18. You're right. There will be charges, but they will be quickly dropped, like in this case. n/t

[Brigid]

26. I remember when this was posted on DU.

I wonder what happened with it.

[hughee99]

28. Yes, exactly like this one.

I was actually thinking of the guy in New Mexico for that part, this this too.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3209305.shtml?cat=500#.U9fWzbGmXY-

It's gone from "holy shit" to "I cant believe it happened again" and will eventually end up as the sort of horseshit people just get used to seeing in the news.

[dixiegrrrrl]

64. Actually, they ARE doing that now, sorta.

Stories coming out that drivers are being stopped, taken to jail on an excuse, and their money taken, then they are released.
Legally, all the police have to do is declare any cash as "suspicious" from "possible" drug proceeds, they can legally impound it and there is nothing you can do.
They don't even have to charge YOU with any crime, or take you to court...just claim you were stopped on "suspicion" because you were driving on a
"known drug route", which is defined down here as the I-10 corridor (freeway) which runs from east to west coast.

[catrose]

17. so sorry for the needless death

My son was pulled over & cops were going to haul him in. He asked if he could call us, few miles way to get his car.
They said no, and we had to deal with a towed and impounded car, among everything else. We were told it's the cops option in TX--sounds like this cop exercised his option to kill a pet. I'd like to hear about them opting for humanity for a change.

[silverweb]

37. I'd bet money...

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]... that the cops are in cahoots with the towing & impound companies, too. Betcha the corruption and kickbacks are deeply imbedded.

[catrose]

59. I wouldn't even try to argue that you're wrong

It seems very likely.

[Dustlawyer]

97. I was victimized like this years ago and was in a cell with several others in the same situation.

One truck driver yelled all night in the holding cell that he was on his way to GET beer and hadn't had any yet. A couple of years later this local Texas DPS Department was busted for a kickback scheme with the tow company. I was in when the tow truck pulled into the parking lot where I was and started hooking up to my truck. When I got out to find out what was going on, the cop arrested me. The first I spoke to the cop was after they had hooked up my truck. I had been parked for over 30 minutes so there was no violation, just another person to rip off.

[Lochloosa]

19. To Protect and Serve...my ass

[safeinOhio]

21. Start at the top.

Write the mayor and tell him you will vote for anyone else but the mayor if he, or she does not fire the chief if the chief does not fire this officer.

[delete_bush]

30. Won't happen.

Whichever union he belongs to will protect him.

[happyslug]

35. No, Union only can protect people who do they jobs.

If this officer is a member of a union, the Union MUST represent him in any termination or punishment procedure. That is one of the requirements of FEDERAL UNION LAW under the National Labor Relations Act. The Union MUST represent him, even if the Union opposed what he did AND the Union even if what the union member did was clear grounds for termination (My father once had to tell his Union Representative that, yes, the employer had caught the union member in the act of stealing and that was a clear grounds for termination, but the representative still had to go to the hearing on that termination and represent the union member who stole for that was one of the duties of such Union Representative, The theft was going to be fired, but he still had the right to a Union Representative).

On the other hand, the Officers defenses limited. The first defense is that this was standard procedure for such pets. If that is the case the Police Department opened itself up to a nasty lawsuit, but it is a defense of the Officer from being fired (You can NOT be fired if what you are doing is standard procedure of your unionized employer).

If leaving the Dog on the side of the Road is NOT standard procedure (and I have to question if it is, for one must secure the property of the person one's arrest and that includes personal property like a dog), then was the act unreasonable under the circumstances? I can not see ANYONE ruling that such a procedure for a DOMESTICATED SMALL DOG was "reasonable" and as such it was what is called "Willful Misconduct" and grounds for termination AND denial of Unemployment.

Sorry, the Union may get the blame for protecting this officer, but the Union does NOT have the power to do so. That power is solely in the hands of his employer, they often blame the Union for people accept that story instead of looking into WHO has the POWER to discipline this Officer, and that power is NEVER in the hands of the Union.

[delete_bush]

74. I appreciate your reasoned response,

and would like to take the time to give an adequate one in return. Unfortunately I don't have much time today, but perhaps later. I would come back with the argument that union lawyers write much of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, that it's a lengthy process without a lot of transparency, that the decision can rest with a three-member panel, one chosen by the police chief, one by the accused officer, and the third by the police chief and the accused officer, etc., but this takes some research.

Thanks again.

[happyslug]

76. Such terms are in SOME Union contracts, but NOT most.

And every time I have run across such procedure in a Union Contract (and that is mostly with Police or Civil Service) it is also required by Civil Service procedures. The main reason for this is it is easier to blame the Union for insisting on such terms then to admit that most Administration wants such procedures so they do NOT have to make any decision on terminating someone. The people who want the termination will remember it in the next election, but the people who oppose such termination (The police) will remember it for the next 20 years. Most politician do not only think of the next election, but elections after that, thus they see being made to make such decisions as losing no matter what they do, thus they "Agree" to such arbitration requirements so they do NOT have to make any decision on terminating an officer or another Civil Servant.

[Ash_F]

50. The mayor made a strong statement

But it will take concerted effort for that to build into the removal of a police chief. I wish Houston well.

[joeybee12]

23. Scum

That cop is scum...you have to be a heartless bastard to put any animal in any needless danger, which is what that cop did.

[byronius]

24. 'To Protect And To Serve'

Part of the problem, I believe, is the underpaid, overstressed nature of police work. It's a job not everyone can do, and often the ones drawn to it are the least capable. Cities that focus on well-trained, better-paid, regularly psych-tested cops benefit immeasurably from the investment, since there is nothing worse than an emotionally-unbalanced primate-routine-driven cop, except for perhaps a bad judge (Fuck You, Scalia), or a bad teacher.

This was an obviously rotten cop. There are great cops out there; I've met them. This guy was a complete doofus, a massive lawsuit waiting to happen. The city's going to suffer consequences beyond the possible financial settlement, however; a citizen has been harmed and alienated by a public servant whose paycheck comes from his taxes. This kind of intangible damage is where the real dangers lie. The Garcias will forever distrust, if not blindly hate, law enforcement. Some may brush this aside as meaningless, but I contend that it is the most damaging kind of social decay, irreparable and permanent.

Better pay. More attention to the details. Someone has to be the cop; if the society is not advanced enough to construct a rotating public-service system in which every citizen is eventually trained, tested, and put in the field to do that job for a few years, then professional pay and serious weeding-out is the only other solution.

[delete_bush]

31. Underpaid? Not in CA

California police officers made, on average, $96,400, including overtime, incentive pay and retirement payouts during 2012, according to a Bee analysis of new data from the state controller's office. Firefighters and engineers earned, on average, $120,700. Average pay for police captains across the state was $164,800; for fire captains, it was $148,200.

About 18,000 local public safety and California Highway Patrol officers in the Cal-PERS system were 45 or older in 2009, the latest state figures show. Most can retire at age 50 and get 3 percent of their highest pay for every year they worked, usually up to 90 percent. Their average pay: $108,000

[byronius]

42. Yes, and that's why I'm grateful to live here.

Davis cops all have master's degrees in criminal justice, are invariably polite, well-adjusted, and from diverse backgrounds. Every contact I've had with them has been very much citizen-to-public-servant, and not once have I had reason to think they were anything other than Professional Law Enforcement.

Maybe some of the redder communities have problems. Sacto County Deputy Sheriffs don't make much, and are the only complained-about law enforcement in the area. Sacramento City Police have always been excellent in my opinion; well-trained and intelligent. I was at a hostile protest where things got out of hand; they were like patient parents, and displayed immeasurable self-control.

I think a lot of it has to do with the general population cops are drawn from. They represent the lower norm, to some extent. Which means Texas is completely fucked.

Worst cops I've ever come across? Texas, and Arizona. I had an uncle who served in San Antonio as the cop who trolled gay bars to pick up men who would subsequently be driven to the outskirts of town and beaten unconscious. Nice guy, not a good cop. Certainly the culture supported his actions, however. Scary fucking place, San Antonio. All my relatives come from there, I should know.

Arizona cops made me leave Arizona. Openly crazy, proud to be unbalanced alpha-males with no professional intent whatsoever.

I'll stick with my nerdy Davis cops. This town is tough on them; the slightest misstep and the entire community reacts intensely.

That's how it should be.

[Brigid]

25. Why were they arrested to begin with?

Nothing was found but prescription drugs belonging to the passenger.

[mimi85]

34. If he had no drugs

why was he arrested?

[lunasun]

54. DWB

[mimi85]

82. Got it - disgusting! nt

[City Lights]

44. I would also like an answer to that question.

The article only mentions prescription drugs belonging to the passenger. From the information available, seems like there should not have been an arrest.

[csziggy]

78. According to a different link the passenger had a controlled substance

"The officer found a controlled substance (identified in court records as phencyclidine) on the vehicle's passenger." http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2014/07/guero_josie_garcia_hpd.php

This source says: "The vehicle was searched, and prescription medication she says belonged to the passenger was found." http://abc13.com/pets/family-traffic-stop-ended-with-family-pet-dead/213313/

Phencyclidine is commonly known as PCP or angel dust. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phencyclidine I don't think that was prescribed to anyone!

[NaturalHigh]

27. Assholes!

This makes my blood boil.

[SunSeeker]

29. Not only did the cop kill that dog, he endangered motorists.

It is quite foreseeable that the disoriented dog would wander into traffic, seeking to follow its owner. Drivers attempting to avoid the dog could have gotten in a deadly accident. Obviously, at least one driver did hit the dog, probably suffering property damage, as well as the emotional anguish resulting from hitting the little chihuahua.

[Enthusiast]

91. +1

[woo me with science]

98. +10000 Excellent post. This was CRIMINAL

in so many ways.

Good god, anyone who could ever do this has no place in a job like that.

[progree]

32. Houston mayor: "Let me give you a public apology ... I don't know what airhead ..."

http://abc13.com/pets/family-traffic-stop-ended-with-family-pet-dead/213313/

Garcia filed a complaint against the officer with HPD Internal Affairs.

Tuesday, she spoke before City Council, compressing her story into three short minutes. It got an immediate response from Mayor Annise Parker.

"Let me give you a public apology right now on behalf of the city of Houston," Parker told Garcia. "I don't know what airhead -- there's another word in my mind but I'm not going to say it -- would throw, you wouldn't put a kid on the side of the road. You shouldn't put someone's pet on the side of the road."

Council members are asking that if a policy regarding pets caught up in police activity isn't clear, it should be.

[mimi85]

36. Good for the Mayor!! nt

[DirkGently]

40. At least the City has the decency to see the problem. n/t

[byronius]

46. I bet this helps clean out that department.

Abusing humans is generally ignored; pick on someone's dog, however -- major hate ensues.

[City Lights]

39. Ugh, this is absolutely disgusting!

Makes my blood boil!

[sinkingfeeling]

41. Hope they sue the police officer.

[totodeinhere]

43. Oh this makes me mad. Something has to be done about all of this animal abuse on the part

of cops.

[Dawson Leery]

45. The cop in question is only bringing harm onto himself.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/106816133

[lark]

48. Fucking pigs!

This is so disgusting. I am really sick of callous officials causing others pain just for sport. What woudl have been the problem of allowing a call - cops just said no to fuck with him and now the dog is dead.

[blackspade]

49. Another asshole cop.

What a surprise.

Everyone should avoid interacting with cops as much as possible for their own safety as well as their families.
Cops are as much a menace as criminals these days.

[Inkfreak]

52. Fucking heros. Every one of em...(nt)

[villager]

55. Does anyone other than the sickest of fucks decide "I want to be a cop?"

[laundry_queen]

68. Yes but

the percentage is less.

My SIL is a cop. She had to apply 5 times to get accepted (that was with a psych degree and a job in a related field), and then she went through a barrage of psych evals, lie detector tests and physical tests before she was even accepted to start training. Training lasted quite some time.

It really depends on the force. The force my SIL works for only accepts a small percentage of applicants. They try to accept people who have bigger ambitions (SIL wanted to work with victims of domestic violence) not those who WANT to be on patrol and pick on people. The process is rigorous to try to screen out cop wannabes. Some still slip through though. And of course, many police forces are not very picky about who they accept. I had a bunch of friends whose husbands were cops with a different force and well...they were part of the type that really shouldn't have been.

[villager]

69. Thanks, laundry queen. This is what worries me -- "good cops" increasingly the exception

The armed, armored sociopaths increasingly -- inevitably -- the rule.

Pun intended?

[TDale313]

57. This fuckhead needs to face charges.

I realize he won't, but this is disgusting. No one this cruel and irresponsible should be in any kind of authority. Fucker.

[ecstatic]

60. How do we stop this?

These cops are clearly out of control, and I'm tired of reading these stories and feeling powerless to do anything about it. This is one of those rare issues where the left and right agree. Does congress have to get involved? Is this a "states' rights" issue?

[glinda]

66. Why are the cops killing so many animals and pets??????

[lpbk2713]

67. Some of these clowns really get their rocks off being genuine assholes.

I hope there's a special place in hell reserved for these scumbags.

[99Forever]

70. And they wonder why they get called pig.

Personally, I think that's an insult to pigs.

[noamnety]

71. I had a fight with a cop once

My daughter's car was hit and totaled (the other person's fault). They had to have it towed. The police wouldn't let her get her dog out of the car!

He said it would disrupt traffic because people would stare if they saw her carry a dog across the lanes of traffic.

Luckily the tow truck driver saw we were pointing at the car in an agitated way - he walked over to ask what was wrong. We pointed out the large dog (already loaded up on his truck!). He was shocked and a little horrified, and luckily refused to drive with the dog in the car so we were able to get it.

I couldn't imagine that a cop would allow a car to be loaded and towed with a small child in the back. I really didn't see all the much difference.

[bigwillq]

73. This makes me so sad.

Poor doggy.

Had to share this on Facebook.

[Liberal_in_LA]

79. me too

[Rex]

77. Of course! Old Scratch was working that shift!

Anything to tear a hole in a person's heart...I would have NEVER gone peacefully, sorry but that is cruel and unusual punishment and flat out criminal negligence of somebodies pet.

I would say, "I hope" this and that toward the cop...but it happens so much now that there really is nothing to say anymore. Cops are allowed to get away with murder and America 2014 doesn't seem to care much.

[ProfessorGAC]

93. He Prefers "Legbah"

Either way, your point if made.
GAC

[Mariana]

100. You would never have gone peacefully.

I think that was what the cop wanted. There's no way to know for sure, but I suspect the cop was deliberately trying to provoke the driver into resisting arrest.

You would never have gone peacefully. Then you'd have been beaten up and charged with multiple felonies, if you weren't simply killed outright. No other cops on the scene would step in to protect you or the dog - most likely they'd join the fun and get a few whacks in themselves. And the dog would still be dead.

That's the reality of the situation. The cops enjoy doing this to people, and as you say, they get away with it.

[Rex]

101. Yeah I wouldn't be like that man, I would be going kicking and screaming

knowing that my 14 year old dog was going to die on the side of the road. There would be no way I could be peaceful about that and no doubt the cop would taser me, beat me, call for backup and probably shoot me dead.

A 14 year old dog is family, you don't just calmly walk away and let family die. Not on two legs and not on four legs.

No doubt the cop would enjoy beating me and listening to me suffer and cry and beg...that is why I called him Satan. Sounds like something an immensely evil creature would take pleasure in.

[malaise]

80. One word

Scumbags

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

81. Lack of a conscience when it comes to animal suffering

could signal a deeply disturbed individual.

[toddwv]

83. I don't understand...

The routine traffic stop lead to a search and prescription drugs belonging to the passenger were found. Both men were subsequently arrested and the SUV was impounded.

The cop arrested them for having prescription drugs that belonged to the passenger? Why?

[Vattel]

84. Just another human supremacist acting according to his stupid ideology.

[B Calm]

90. Common sense should be a requirement before hiring someone to wear badge.