Opossum beaten to death
Palm Harbor, FL (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2005
County: Pinellas
Disposition: Dismissed
Person of Interest: Ryan Klaskow
Prosecutors have dropped an animal cruelty charge against a Palm Harbor man who killed a opossum that had attacked a dog.
Pinellas sheriff's deputies arrested Ryan Klaskow, 21, on May 24 after they said he beat a opossum to death in the area of 15th Street and Michigan Avenue in Palm Harbor.
A neighbor had called deputies that night to report that people were chopping up an animal with a machete. When deputies arrived, they found the opossum's carcass on the street and took Klaskow into custody.
He spent a day in jail before posting $500 bail.
Prosecutors later filed a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge against Klaskow. But the neighbor who called deputies couldn't be located for some time, and two other witnesses told prosecutors that the opossum had attacked a dog named Knucklehead, a 13-year-old Rottweiler.
Prosecutors dropped the charge last week.
Assistant State Attorney Kendall Davidson said prosecutors considered whether the opossum posed a danger to a person or property. Though it may not have been clear to the deputy that Klaskow was protecting the dog, that became apparent to prosecutors later, Davidson said.
"The testimony was coming down that it was posing a danger to the dog," Davidson said.
Davidson also said it didn't appear Klaskow tortured or tormented the animal. References- St. Petersburg Times - March 8, 2006
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