Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he intends to file a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge against Austin Fetner, who has been under investigation following a 2014 incident in Lilburn. The criminal accusation will be formally filed later this month, Porter said.
According to information previously reported by the Gwinnett Daily Post, Fetner was a Gwinnett animal control officer when, on the afternoon of Aug. 30, he was called to a Lilburn-area home in response to a loose Rottweiler.
In his official report from the incident, Fetner admitted to hitting the dog once with his “catch pole,” saying he had feared for his life.
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| Said Annabella Flynn-Dempsey, one of several witnesses: “The dog wasn’t chasing him. He was chasing the dog. He chose to stay in there and beat the dog into submission.” |
Witnesses, however, told authorities that Fetner hit the dog multiple times and appeared to be voluntarily chasing the dog and attempting to “beat (it) into submission.”
The dog — a purebred named Shane that had escaped the nearby yard of his owner, Sabahuddin Grbic — suffered no lasting physical effects, though scar tissue was found inside his eye and significant “emotional trauma” was reported.
Fetner resigned as an animal control officer on Oct. 23, about a month after a citizen complaint was filed regarding the incident.
Porter said it took several months for a decision to be reached on potential charges because it took him “a long time to get the file” and he “had to work with some conflicting witness statements.”
“I also had to go back and review Fetner’s training and the current manual,” Porter said.
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| Flynn-Dempsey alleges that Fetner hit the dog with his pole five more times, mostly on the head and face. There was blood everywhere as the dog was finally dragged to Fetner’s truck, she said. |
The probe is believed to be the first-ever criminal investigation into an officer with Gwinnett County Animal Control, which is overseen by the Gwinnett County Police Department. The latter did not return requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Penny Furr, the attorney for Grbic, the dog’s owner, said Wednesday she was happy — so far — with the result of the investigation.
“Animal abusers should not work with animals,” she wrote in an email. “I am proud that the system is working and that Mr. Porter is taking animal abuse seriously. I hope other prosecutors will follow his lead and realize that animals feel pain and fear and they deserve protection.”
(AJC.com - July 15, 2015)
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