Dog shot twice in the head
Orient Point, NY (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Feb 5, 2005
County: Suffolk
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Kent McCarthy
A town bay constable is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly killing his dog by shooting it twice in the head with his service weapon near the tip of Orient Point Saturday morning, according to town police. Kent McCarthy, who has been a town employee for nearly two decades, is cooperating with town investigators, said Police Chief Ty Cochran. He reportedly said he killed the dog, a brown Chesapeake Bay retriever, because it had become too aggressive. Mr. McCarthy has been suspended with pay pending the results of an investigation, said the chief.
Mr. McCarthy, who was charged with a misdemeanor under the state's Agriculture and Markets law, was released in his own custody. The Orient resident is scheduled to appear in Southold Justice Court on Feb. 11. He also was issued a summons by the county parks police for discharging a firearm within a county park, according to police.
"It's definitely unusual to have to pursue charges against one of your own," said Chief Cochran. "But when a crime is alleged you have to pursue those charges."
According to the complaint against Mr. McCarthy, hunters reported finding a dead dog in the water on the Sound side of the Orient Point park at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday. They told police the animal was not there when they passed that spot earlier. Mr. McCarthy was one of the officers who responded to the call and used his bay constable four-wheel-drive vehicle to bring a patrolman out to the scene, Chief Cochran said. There, police reportedly found two spent shell casings and one live round. Police claim Mr. McCarthy used his police-issue 9 mm Glock semi-automatic handgun to kill the dog.
In a statement to police Mr. McCarthy said he adopted the dog, a 2- to 3-year-old female, from a pound in Maine two months ago. He said the dog bit him the first day he had it and has bitten others as well. Because of its aggressive nature, he said he did not think it right to bring the animal to the town shelter for fear it could be adopted by someone else. He also said he was not aware that killing the animal was illegal and that had he known that he would not have shot it.
In addition to his bay constable duties, Mr. McCarthy also served as head of the town employees' CSEA bargaining unit. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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