Four legged friends (and enemies): Connecticut: Cat dies after being tortured and abused by Brian Casson, 39, of Waterbury. Witness threatened with a hammer.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Connecticut: Cat dies after being tortured and abused by Brian Casson, 39, of Waterbury. Witness threatened with a hammer.

CONNECTICUT -- A cat has died after police said the animal was abused by a Waterbury man earlier this month, according to the animal control officer.

Police charged 39-year-old Brian James Casson with animal cruelty and breach of peace (in the 2nd degree) after the incident on a bridge near South Leonard Street in Waterbury on Friday.

Eyewitnesses told police Casson appeared to be choking a small cat and proceeded to throw the animal into the Naugatuck River below.

Casson entered the river and had the cat with a makeshift noose around its neck, eyewitnesses told police. He was also seen pulling the cat under the water in an attempt to drown it.

Another article said that after throwing the cat into the water, he picked up a piece of asphalt and threw it onto the cat.

The cat survived the initial attack, but the animal control said the animal was put down because it of it's injuries and it had feline leukemia.

The witness said he tied a string around the
cat's neck and was dunking it "like a tea bag"
into the river, trying to kill it

Police said there will be no further charges against Casson.

He needs to be charged with aggravated animal cruelty as well as Threatening (in the 2nd degree).

Why didn't police charge Brian Casson with Threatening (2nd degree)?

Threatening in the Second Degree is defined as:
* placing another person in fear of imminent personal injury
* threatening to commit a crime of violence in order to terrorize another person
* issuing threats that are in reckless disregard of causing fear or terror

It is a Class A Misdemeanor and is punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.

If you had witnessed Brian Casson torturing and trying to kill a small cat and were trying to obtain his license plate information after calling the police.... and Casson suddenly stopped his car, jumped out and ran towards you with a hammer in his hand, would you not be "in fear of imminent personal injury"?

References: CT Penal Law – Threatening: Sec. 53a-61aa and 62.

Instead, police charged Casson with Breach of Peace (2nd degree), which is a lowly Class B Misdemeanor.

Sec. 53a-181. Breach of the peace in the second degree: Class B misdemeanor.
(a) A person is guilty of breach of the peace in the second degree when, with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, such person:
(1) Engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior in a public place; or
(2) assaults or strikes another; or
(3) threatens to commit any crime against another person or such other person's property; or
(4) publicly exhibits, distributes, posts up or advertises any offensive, indecent or abusive matter concerning any person; or
(5) in a public place, uses abusive or obscene language or makes an obscene gesture; or
(6) creates a public and hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which such person is not licensed or privileged to do. For purposes of this section, "public place" means any area that is used or held out for use by the public whether owned or operated by public or private interests.
(b) Breach of the peace in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor.

The punishment is no more than $400 and no more than 90 days in jail.

If someone came after you with a hammer and threatened your life, would you be happy with him only being charged with 2nd degree Breach of Peace? This gets the Waterbuy Police Department a "bad cop" tag on this article.