Texas Cop Won’t Be Tried For Killing Neighbor’s Dog
[su_right_ad]Kenneth Wayne Flynn quit his job as deputy chief in the Fort Worth Police Department when he was initially charged with animal cruelty/torture. But a Texas law, and possibly his high rank, gets him off the hook.
The shooting occurred after Flynn received a tearful call from his wife informing him that their pet cat was dead. A neighbor told Flynn’s wife that a German shepherd had been standing over the deceased cat, though it is not clear that anyone witnessed the attack itself. After a neighbor tipped him off on where he could find the dog, Flynn spotted the German shepherd along with a pit bull. He shot at the dog, fatally wounding it.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Flynn initially frustrated a police investigation into the shooting, although he later admitted that he was the shooter. Though three officers responded to the scene of the shooting and eventually found Flynn in his front yard, Flynn reportedly identified himself to the officers as a deputy chief and told them that he was “not involved” with the shooting. He also reportedly told the three officers that they “don’t need to keep looking.”
So, on the surface, this looks like an example of a case where a cop — in this case, a very high-ranking cop — was able to escape criminal charges because of their position on the police force. There is, however, another wrinkle to the case. A Texas law provides that a “dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by . . . the attacked animal’s owner or a person acting on behalf of the owner if the owner or person has knowledge of the attack.” Thus Texas law explicitly authorizes individuals to exact vigilante justice against dogs that injure their pets.[su_csky_ad]
tiredoftea December 20th, 2014 at 11:08 pm
They don’t get tried for killing humans, a dog is not going to cause concern in Texas.
Snick1946 December 21st, 2014 at 12:03 am
I will get jumped on here but I have to say it- I do not feel a lot of anger here. The cop’s family lost a beloved pet. Too many dog owners behave irresponsibly and just let their animals run all over their neighborhoods, chasing and snapping at pedestrians, pooping all over yards, etc. . We’ve had it happen here- for a couple of years we couldn’t even use our back yard because of two viscous huge dogs next door. We called the authorities, tried to talk to the owners, the whole thing. Basically they just said ‘f..c you’ and did nothing. Finally they moved but, if one of them had killed my cat, well- you wouldn’t be seeing it again.
tiredoftea December 21st, 2014 at 12:11 am
The only problem is that the dog killed may only have been curiously sniffing the dead animal.
whatthe46 December 21st, 2014 at 6:43 am
apparently dogs too are guilty before being proven innocent.
Bob Cronos December 21st, 2014 at 12:18 am
Big deal… I had to shoot a couple of my irresponsible neighbors dogs for attacking my animals back when I had a small farm… One of them even called the cops, who laughed when they saw the dogs mouth full of chicken feathers… Another time my neighbor came over pissed, not that I had shot his dog (which I hadn’t), but that I didn’t kill it and it came home wounded…
Concern yourselves with the 25,000 kids that die every day in this world, not some murderin’ dog…
whatthe46 December 21st, 2014 at 6:42 am
the thing is… this pos was arrested and facing criminal charges for the death of animal of no threat to him. however, when a cop murders a non-threatening human being, not only does he not get arrested, but he gets a paid vacation.
tracey marie December 22nd, 2014 at 7:09 pm
ignore the tp troll, by feeding it it comes back for more