Michigan: Police defend decision to kill dog found battered by baseball bat

MICHIGAN -- A 54-year-old Battle Creek man faces felony and misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after police found his battered dog on the man's back porch.

Police shot and killed the animal to (supposedly) end its misery.

Major Austin Simons of the Battle Creek Police Department said a neighbor summoned police to the 50-block of Bennett Street at the sounds of gunfire at about 8:30 p.m. Feb 9.

When officers arrived they found blood splattered around the house, and questioned the occupants, Simons said.

David Hursely told them that his dog, a young husky mix, had been behaving aggressively. When it bit another man's hand, Hursely told police, he beat the dog with an aluminum baseball bat. After it was subdued, he shot it a couple of times with an Airsoft pellet rifle.

Police found the dog on the back porch, in grave condition, and called a supervisor to the scene. That officer made the decision to put the dog down, and shot it, once, killing it, Simons said.

 

"That's not normally our practice but looking at its suffering, they put him out of his misery," Simons said.

Police took Hursely into custody, and he was arraigned in Calhoun County District Court on a felony charge of killing or torturing an animal and the misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals.

Simons said he has received many telephone calls from people who are angry at the owner, and also those who are angry that the dog was shot.

"The biggest thing we trying to emphasize is that this is not normal practice," Simons said.

The department posted a statement on its Facebook page which said, in part:

"In light of a police incident involving the shooting of a dog on Tuesday, the Battle Creek Police Department wants to educate residents on how officers handle such incidents.

"Responding officers reported that the dog appeared to be distressed – they said it was struggling to breathe and could not stand. Based on the dog's condition, officers determined that the humane decision was to put the dog down immediately.

"If an animal appears to have a broken leg, or appears to not be in immediate distress, officers may choose to seek medical help from a veterinarian. In this case and others, however, severe pain or aggression may lead officers to put down the animals at the scene of the incident, so as not to further the animal's suffering."

(MLive - Feb 11, 2016)

Earlier:

• Michigan: Eight-time convicted felon, David Hursley, accused of beating and shooting his dog to death