Miami cop kills k9

[ratpatrol]

SO how much time is the guy gonna get?
I am apalled to see this article and I am hoping it's not just gonna BE a "slap" on the wrist" BUT we're in Floida..and they do things different here...

[JSD73]

Don't know how you do things up there bro, but I tell you what, I have no respect for animal abusers. That was his partner, the dog would have given it's life for him in a heartbeat (which it did ironically) and gave unconditional love and respect. You don't find that in a human partner. I'll leave it at that as I have a whole line of expletives I could use to describe this turd.

[miami-k9]

Do you have any idea what happened, are you making a judgement call based on little or no info, do you know what came up in the K9's autopsy report.................obvously not.

I have known this officer personally for many years, he is a good man. K9 work is unforgiving and mistakes are easy to make. Like many things in law enforcement, people are quick to jump to conclusions based on unsubstantiated or incomplete information.

To the untrained eye any manner of K9 correction can appear excessive. I have thumped my dog on the chest, slapped his hocks (with my foot) and kneed him in the chest. Any one of those could be seen as a kick, and all carried barely more force than it would take to break an egg, but from a distance they might appear harsh.

Work a hard dog..........until then, well, you dont know.

There is additional info that i cannot release here in regards to this issue.

[JSD73]

Well then correct the story or add to it

MIAMI --

A 27-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department was arrested Wednesday after being charged with animal cruelty and an offense against a police dog.

Sgt. Allen Cockfield turned himself in Wednesday afternoon to investigators at the Turner-Gilford Knight Correctional Center after an arrest warrant was issued by the State Attorney's office.

The charges stem from an incident in which a 4-year-old K-9 named "Duke" collapsed on June 7, 2006, during training. The German Shepherd was rushed to Knowles Animal Clinic, where he later died.

A source told Local 10 that Duke had barked when he wasn't supposed to during a training exercise at the Miami Dade Training Bureau. He was participating in training with the rest of the K-9 unit. The source said that after Duke barked, Cockfield "lost it" and kicked the dog several times.

Cockfield shook the dog, and when he realized the dog was unconscious, he rushed him to the clinic, according to the source. Cockfield had been a K-9 officer for 25 years and had no record of any problems, Local 10 reported.

The officer has been on administrative duty with pay since the investigation began.

[miami-k9]

Well then correct the story or add to it

MIAMI --

A 27-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department was arrested Wednesday after being charged with animal cruelty and an offense against a police dog.

Sgt. Allen Cockfield turned himself in Wednesday afternoon to investigators at the Turner-Gilford Knight Correctional Center after an arrest warrant was issued by the State Attorney's office.

The charges stem from an incident in which a 4-year-old K-9 named "Duke" collapsed on June 7, 2006, during training. The German Shepherd was rushed to Knowles Animal Clinic, where he later died.

A source told Local 10 that Duke had barked when he wasn't supposed to during a training exercise at the Miami Dade Training Bureau. He was participating in training with the rest of the K-9 unit. The source said that after Duke barked, Cockfield "lost it" and kicked the dog several times.

Cockfield shook the dog, and when he realized the dog was unconscious, he rushed him to the clinic, according to the source. Cockfield had been a K-9 officer for 25 years and had no record of any problems, Local 10 reported.

The officer has been on administrative duty with pay since the investigation began.

Observe bolded item.

As stated I cannot give additional info here.

I WILL add that a K9 handler w/25 years of experience does not "Lose it" over a barking dog.

[SgtScott31]

Observe bolded item.

As stated I cannot give additional info here.

I WILL add that a K9 handler w/25 years of experience does not "Lose it" over a barking dog.

I will have to agree with miami on this one. My dept has one of the best EOD K9 teams in the country, and they love their dogs like their own children. If this guy was a handler with that much experience, with no prior history, it would be hard-pressed for me to believe the killing of this animal was intentional.

[LeanG]

SO how much time is the guy gonna get?
I am apalled to see this article and I am hoping it's not just gonna BE a "slap" on the wrist" BUT we're in Floida..and they do things different here...

You're not gonna be a K-9 officer for 25 years without having a love for animals, in particular, dogs. Give him a chance to speak before you crucify him. I know many k-9 officers (on our dept.) and they would give their lives for their dogs. I don't think this Sgt. is any different.

[Smurfette_76]

I have to agree with the others. I dont' think the whole story has been given here and I"m going to reserve my opinion until it has. He has 25 years experience so I don't think it was as the article has slanted it.

[Deputy31]

Yup, clearly some of the story has been left out and I've never seen a K9 handler just "lose it." Takes a special breed to do that job. I'll be interested to see the full details of what happened.