Attorneys/Judges
| Defense(s): | Michael Schiano |
Animal Control Officer Charged In dogs' deaths
Rochester, NY (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jul 1, 2011
County: Monroe
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Fred Parkinson, III
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Rochester Police released the name of the animal control officer charged in the death of two pugs.
Fred Parkinson is charged with failing to provide food and drink to the impounded dogs and confining animals in a vehicle during extreme temperatures.
Police Chief James Sheppard offered his condolences to the pugs' owner Nancy Lee.
Sheppard was supposed speak to the media about the charges Wednesday morning, but cancelled his news conference.
Last month, Animal Control picked up Nancy Lee's pugs named Daisy and Lilly because they got out of her yard.
When Lee went to pick up her dogs, she found out they had died.
Police said the dogs were put in the animal control vehicle even though the air conditioning was not working properly.
In a statement to police, Parkinson said he checked on the dogs twice after stopping for other calls and said the dogs looked ok.
He stopped for lunch then returned to the animal control office.
Parkinson said he had to wait to bring the animal control vehicle into the garage because another vehicle was already inside.
The police statement said the temperature in the back of the vehicle reached 102 degrees.
When Parkinson went to get the dogs out after 90 minutes, they were dead.
"I don't want to say I'm pleased, that's not the right word, but I'm glad somebody is being held accountable for this tragedy and a lot of credit goes to the media for listening to my story and following up," Nancy Lee told 13WHAM Tuesday after she learned the animal control officer was charged.
The City says Parkinson is suspended.
Case UpdatesProsecutors may have suffered a setback in their case against a Rochester Animal Control officer.
Frederick Parkinson is accused of animal cruelty after two pug dogs died while in the back of his animal control van but I-Team 10 has obtained a copy of the necropsy (an animal autopsy) that raises questions about the true cause of death.
Parkinson has been fired from his job with Rochester Animal Services as a result of this case. He's planning to file a notice declaring his intention to sue the City for wrongful termination and his criminal case certainly got a boost with the findings in this report.
Police say Parkinson caused the deaths of two pugs by leaving them in an un-air-conditioned van on a 90-degree day in July. But doctors at Cornell who examined the dogs could not find evidence of heat stroke and therefore their final diagnosis is ruled as "open."
The two pugs who belonged to Nancy Lee were picked up on the City's east side after escaping through a hole in their fenced backyard.
Police reports show that after picking the dogs up, Parkinson went on a couple other calls before returning to the pound. When he opened the back of the van 90 minutes later, they were dead. But the pathologist's report says they could not find evidence of gross lesions that are typical of heat stroke. The report says other causes of death including toxicosis or poisoning cannot be ruled out.
Michael Schiano, Parkinson's attorney said, "It was hot out. But they could have eaten something and it could have led to their death. But it's inconclusive and open according to the report that we have. But there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any type of heat stroke."
There is some question about the reliability of these necropsies done after an animal has been kept frozen. That was the case with these pugs after they died.
This gets a little scientific but veterinarians who have spoken with I-Team 10 say the freeze-thaw process will destroy the dogs' cell make-up and that can make pinpointing the cause of death impossible to discover. So while Parkinson's attorney will certainly point to this document, prosecutors will likely try to discount its significance at trial.
The assistant district attorney on the case says it certainly could make the case a little more difficult, but not impossible to prove.
While these results are inconclusive, they do have other evidence like witness accounts and she says she believes it's still a sufficient case to take to trial. | Source: whec.com - Nov 10, 2011
Update posted on Nov 10, 2011 - 10:25PM |
A Rochester animal control officer was arraigned Wednesday morning on charges dating back to a July 11th call he responded to that left two pugs dead.
Fred Parkinson III, 36, was arraigned in Rochester City Court on a misdemeanor charge of failure to provide proper care to an impounded animal and on the violation of confinement of a companion animal in a vehicle under extreme temperatures.
The charges stem from a July 11th call for service. In his statement to police, the animal control officer said he was called to the area of Humbolt and Carlson Rd just after noon that day for reports of two pugs on the loose.
The woman who called police told investigators that she had called the number that was on the pugs' tags but could not get a hold of the owner.
Parkinson told investigators he followed protocol and took the pugs in.
On that day, temperatures reached up into the 90's and the van Parkinson put the pugs into had a broken air conditioning unit. In his statement, Parkinson said he was aware of the ac issue so he cracked windows and opened the back door several times to check on the pugs while he responded to other calls.
By the time Parkinson returned to the Rochester Animal Services building 90 minutes later to take the pugs out, they had died.
According to court documents, temperatures in vehicle reached nearly 102 degrees.
Parkinson's supervisor also talked with investigators. He said Fred was, "obviously very upset and distraught about what happened and I attempted to console him."
YNN spoke with neighbors of the pugs' owner, Nancy Lee. The neighbors said the dogs were her world.
Rochester Animal Control Services is a unit of the Rochester Police Department. A statement issued by the Rochester Police Department said, "The death of a family pet is heartbreaking. Chief Sheppard would like to express his sincere condolences to Ms. Nancy Lee the pug owner."
He is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial conference at 2 p.m. Sept. 29. | Source: rochester.ynn.com - Sep 1, 2011
Update posted on Sep 3, 2011 - 10:25PM |
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