Case Details
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Case ID: 19483
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Attorneys/Judges
Defense(s): Kate Wells


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Former police K-9 starving at former police officer's home
Salinas, CA (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Feb 17, 2012
County: Monterey

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Francisco Ibarra

Upcoming Court Dates:
» Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012: Pre-trial hearing

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

The Monterey County has District Attorney's Office has filed charges against Francisco Ibarra, a former officer with the Watsonville Police. He faces 2 misdemeanor counts of neglecting the care of an animal. One count is for Ingo, and another for a 12 year old shepherd that was rescued in September 2011.

The five year old dog was found at the Salinas residence of former police officer Francisco Ibarra. The dog's hips and ribs were prominently showing and there was no food in the backyard. SPCA Humane Officers seized the dog on February 17 after giving Ibarra a 24 hours' notice to contact the SPCA and receiving no response.

The emaciated and dehydrated dog, later identified as former K9 officer Ingo, was immediately evaluated by a Veterinarian who gave him 1 body condition score. The canine Body Condition Score chart goes from 1-5 with 1 being emaciated, 3 considered ideal, and 5 being obese. A score of 1 reflects that ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all body prominences are evident from a distance; no discernible body fat; and obvious absence of muscle mass.

X-rays revealed Ingo's stomach was filled with what appeared to be sand or dirt. The next day he passed pieces of green plastic, dirt, sand, hair, and grass. He is slowly recovering and gaining weight on a specialized diet on a prescribed feeding schedule.

There does not appear to be a medical reason for his emaciation. At his time of rescue he weighed 55 lbs. An average adult male German shepherd of his size should weigh 80 to 90 pounds. One month after rescue he now weighs 70 pounds.

To report animal cruelty and neglect, please contact the SPCA at 831-373-2631. All calls are confidential. To donate to help animals like this rescued dog, please call the SPCA or donate online at

Case Updates

A former Watsonville police officer accused of severely neglecting his German shepherd was arraigned on animal cruelty charges Wednesday.

Francisco Ibarra was charged with two misdemeanor counts of animal neglect last month after his dog, a former Watsonville K-9 officer, was seized by the Monterey County SPCA. Ibarra, who is not in custody, pleaded not guilty to both charges Wednesday in a Monterey County court.

Ibarra is representing himself in the case, prosecutor Kelsey Blevings said. Ibarra is due back in court June 19 for a pre-trial hearing.

An anonymous tip led SPCA authorities to Ibarra's Salinas home earlier this year, where they found Ingo, who weighed just 55 pounds, about 25 pounds less than a healthy 5-year-old German shepherd should weigh, according to Sgt. Stacy Sanders of the SPCA. The dog's hips and ribs were prominently showing and there was no food in the backyard. Ibarra was given 24 hours to respond to the SPCA, and when he did not respond, SPCA officers seized the dog Feb. 17.

Ingo is currently in protective custody while the case continues, according to Beth Brookhouser, a spokeswoman for the SPCA.

"He's in a foster home and is getting lots and lots of love," she said.

She also said Ingo is now up to 78 pounds and doing much better.

If convicted, Ibarra could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Ibarra, a 15-year veteran, was fired by the Watsonville Police Department in 2010. The city Personnel Commission found his termination unwarranted in December, but City Manager Carlos Palacios rejected the commission's recommendation. On behalf of Ibarra, attorney Kate Wells filed a petition last month with the Santa Cruz County Superior Court seeking judicial review of Palacios' decision. The petition names each of the City Council members and Palacios as defendants, and seeks Ibarra's reinstatement, along with back pay and other lost benefits.

Calls to a number listed for Ibarra were not returned Wednesday.
Source: mercurynews.com - Apr 18, 2012
Update posted on Apr 20, 2012 - 5:08PM 
A former police dog who is now the subject of an alleged animal abuse case bit a suspect several times before his handler, a Watsonville police officer, ordered the German shepherd to stop in a March 2009 incident, according to recently filed court documents.

Watsonville officials said the officer, Francisco Ibarra, used "excessive force" in the incident involving the dog named Ingo and fired the veteran officer in May 2010.

Ibarra, who has been fighting to be reinstated in the job he held for more than a dozen years, faces new allegations after Monterey County officials said they found Ingo severely emaciated and dehydrated in the backyard of Ibarra's Salinas home in February.

Ibarra's lawyer Kate Wells said her client has had a "rough, really rough, rough time" since what she termed his "unlawful termination," including a stroke just weeks later and chronic unemployment for almost two years.

On March 16, she filed a petition with Santa Cruz County Superior Court, seeking judicial review of City Manager Carlos Palacios' decision to ignore the city Personnel Commission's December finding that the firing was unwarranted.

Wells, who argues Ibarra was fired due to his work as police union president, said in addition to the petition filed March 16 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, she intends to file a lawsuit on Ibarra's behalf seeking damages.

Police Chief Manny Solano, citing his responsibility to keep personnel matters confidential, has declined to discuss Ibarra's termination other than to say in a statement to the media last May that it came after "thorough and independent investigations into multiple incidents."

According to the court documents on the 2009 incident, Ibarra said he stopped a vehicle after he noticed a minor traffic code violation and because he thought the driver might be intoxicated and the trunk appeared to be overloaded. When both the officer and driver got out of their vehicles, Ibarra said he thought the man he was trying to question was preparing to attack him with a razor blade. He attempted to subdue the man, and when he thought he was losing control, pushed a button to release Ingo from the rear seat of the patrol car to assist him. He said he allowed the dog to continue to bite the man as another officer came on scene to prevent an escape.

The Personnel Commission found that while Ibarra's report on the incident was not entirely accurate, a video showed he "was justified in seeking the assistance of the canine."

In the second incident, involving Ibarra's response to a domestic dispute on March 17, 2009, the commission also found Ibarra "did misstate a fact in his report" but that the misstatement was not "material."

The commission said while some lesser form of discipline might be appropriate, firing was not.

Wells said the commission was in a position to judge the credibility of witnesses.

"These people testified under oath," she said.

But in his statement upholding the termination, Palacios says Ibarra not only used excessive force but that he was "dishonest" with Internal Affairs investigators and the Personnel Commission.

Palacios said Ibarra falsified reports to justify or cover up his actions. In the March 17, 2009, report, Palacios noted, Ibarra wrote that he "noticed" a man's nose was bleeding, but failed to mention he had hit the man in the nose, an action caught on video.

Contrary to the Personnel Commission's perception, Palacios says the video shows a "compliant, unarmed" suspect who shows no indication of having or trying to use a weapon before, unprovoked, Ibarra "puts his right arm around (the man's neck) and takes him to the ground." Eighteen seconds into the ensuing struggle, Ibarra released Ingo remotely and then held the suspect up for several seconds, facing the oncoming dog.

Though the man committed no serious crime and didn't attempt to flee until he was threatened with the dog, he was bitten several times in the torso, back and buttocks, Palacios said. The man was later found to have been driving with a suspended license, but was never charged because the "District Attorney considered the excessive force and untruthful report to be a 'serious problem,'" according to Palacios' report.

Palacios also cited other instances of misconduct by Ibarra, including on two occasions taking guns from his family members and omitting their names and the circumstances for the seizures from police reports. He was disciplined with a 20-hour suspension in 2005. In 2007, he was suspended for 40 hours for failing to intervene when another officer engaged in excessive force on a handcuffed suspect.

Solano declined to comment on the termination Monday. But he did speak about Ingo.

He said Ibarra raised the $7,500 to purchase Ingo in 2008, and under a contract with the police department, he owned the dog.

"We would have loved to retain the dog," Solano said. "We were bound by the contractual agreement."

Solano said the arrangement wasn't unusual. The department has had K-9 units since the 1982, and in some instances it has purchased the dogs. In others, officers or nonprofit groups acquired them. In all cases, the dogs are approved by the department, and both the dog and the officer must be trained and certified before going on patrol.

Ibarra, who faces two misdemeanor charges for neglecting the dog, could not be reached to comment Monday.

Wells said she hadn't spoken to her client about the allegations, but previously Ibarra had told her Ingo had suffered from diarrhea and had lost weight.

"I know he loves his dog," Wells said. "He and his dog were partners. It doesn't make sense to me."

When Monterey County SPCA officials seized Ingo in February, the dog weighed 55 pounds, about 25 less than a healthy 5-year-old German shepherd.

Ingo has recovered in the care of the SPCA of Monterey County.
Source: mercurynews.com - Mar 26, 2012
Update posted on Mar 27, 2012 - 9:53PM 

References

  • « CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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