Brian Thierbach, who pleaded no contest in April to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, shot the dog after he responded to a call about two men in the Southwest Daily News’ parking lot April 28, 2014, authorities said.
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| Brian Thierbach |
Thierbach said the dog tried to bite him, but the dog’s owner, Brandon Carpenter, said the dog wasn’t aggressive and that the shooting was unwarranted. Carpenter and Logan Laliberte, both of Maine, were staying out of the rain in a nearby truck.
Thierbach resigned a month later after an investigation found he violated department policy.
In court Thursday, Thierbach said he loves dogs but that he perceived Carpenter’s dog, named Arzy, as a threat and reacted. Carpenter said the shooting shouldn’t have happened and that Thierbach was laughing about it.
He asked that Thierbach be placed in anger management counseling and have his gun privileges revoked. Neither request was granted.
Judge David Ritchie said he looked at the video of the shooting and reviewed witnesses’ depositions. He said Arzy went directly toward Thierbach.
“I have my own perspective on this,” said Ritchie, who noted he’d undergone military police training. “One of the things I recall is that when you get called to a scene, you never know what you’re going to encounter.”
Ritchie said the footage didn’t conclusively show whether Thierbach felt threatened, but that the dog kept putting his head up against Thierbach’s leg. He said an officer has to have a heightened sense of awareness and that Thierbach didn’t know if Carpenter and Laliberte were criminals.
“I didn’t hear Mr. Carpenter admit he’d done anything wrong,” Ritchie said. “Just because it was raining doesn’t mean he can trespass.”
He said he was shocked at Carpenter’s lack of responsibility.
Ritchie said that looking at all of the circumstances, a no-contest plea to simple cruelty was fair. He said the case has caused financial hardship for Thierbach. “Maybe Mr. Carpenter can take some satisfaction in the fact that Thierbach has had hardship,” he said.
After the sentencing, Carpenter said he was disappointed.
“I don’t harbor any hate in my heart, and he has been punished and I’m ready to move forward,” he said. “It’s not the outcome I wanted, but I’m very glad I can move on. I would have wanted a felony conviction and that he should not wear a badge or carry a gun ever again.”
Alyson Antoon, Carpenter’s attorney, said the case against Thierbach was strong and that she disagreed with Ritchie’s interpretation of the evidence.
“I’ve seen all the evidence. I talked to the witness that was there,” she said. “He clearly said the dog was never aggressive and didn’t bite and was tied up the entire time.”
She said this was done to punish her client for being different, for being a traveler. She said Thierbach never apologized to Carpenter for killing the dog.
A lawsuit by Carpenter against the city of Sulphur has been settled. Antoon said she couldn’t discuss its details.
(Southwest Daily News - May 27, 2016)
Earlier:
I hope Thierbach loses something he loves, if he’s capable of that emotion. What a sad, horrible person.
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