Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston ruled that Ponce Inlet police officers could legally enter Travis Archer’s house without his consent because they believed the situation was an emergency involving a dog’s well-being.
“The defendant himself advised Officer (Brandon) Bines that he had a dog, that the dog had bitten him, and that he had struck the dog two times. At that point, a reasonable person could conclude that there was an urgent and immediate need to check on the safety and well-being of the dog,” Weston wrote.
In a case that has attracted widespread attention from animal advocates, the 43-year-old Archer faces a charge of animal cruelty, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Archer was arrested shortly after midnight on April 8 after a neighbor called police to complain about what sounded like a dog being beaten.
Weston threw out evidence found after the officers located the dead dog in the back yard of the house on 76 Aurora Ave.
That means key evidence will not be admissible, including the dog’s body or the necropsy describing injuries to the dog or the cause of death, said defense attorney Aaron Delgado, who represents Archer.
“Without the evidence of the dog’s body how do you establish that the dog was killed in a cruel manner? And that’s the pivotal point that the state is going to have to contend with,” Delgado said. “How do you know the dog didn’t die of a heart attack?”
Prosecutors had already been dealt a setback when Weston ruled on July 18 with a Daytona Beach courtroom packed with protesters and media that Archer did not give a valid consent for officers to enter the house. Archer initially refused to let the two officers inside.
In making that ruling, Weston cited a comment by Bines, the officer on the call, who told Archer that he could either let officers in voluntarily or police could “go another route which would probably wind up not being good for you.”
Shannon Peters, the spokeswoman for the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, declined to say in an email whether prosecutors would appeal Weston’s ruling to the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach.
“We are reviewing the judge’s order and will determine appropriate action,” Peters wrote.
In trying to make the case that an emergency existed, Assistant State Attorney Erica Kane cited Brinkley v. Flagler County, in which officers - responding to a neighbor’s complaint - entered a person’s property without a warrant.
The officers had been overwhelmed by the smell of animal waste and saw the front yard was covered by animal feces.
The 5th DCA held that the officers were justified to enter without a warrant and Weston also cited that case in her ruling. It was the only case in the state Weston or the lawyers found dealing with an emergency exception to a search warrant dealing with animals.
Delgado argued at the hearing that the Brinkley case was significantly different from Archer’s.
Darino said the judge’s ruling hurts the case against Archer but at least she did not throw out all the evidence.
“It weakens the case but it’s not all bad. Had she granted the entire motion, we wouldn’t even have a case,” Darino said.
Prosecutors can still use body camera video in which Archer admits to hitting the dog after he said the dog tore up his house. The video also shows officers finding the dog’s body sprawled against a wooden fence. The dog’s mouth appears to be bloody.
Reaction to the ruling was mixed among Justice For Ponce members who are not familiar with the law but are focused on Archer’s punishment, Darino said.
“That’s all they care about: That they get justice for this dog because he died a terrible death,” Darino said.
POLICE BODYCAM VIDEO:
(Daytona Beach News-Journal - July 27, 2017)
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