Pit bull, child neglect
Bronx, NY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004
County: Bronx
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Alphonso F. Trotter
A worker at a city animal shelter was in the doghouse on Dec 29 - arrested and facing charges of endangering his two children and torturing animals.
Alphonso Trotter, 40, a staffer at the Manhattan shelter of New York City Animal Care and Control, was arrested on Dec 28 after police were called to his Bronx apartment on a report of a family dispute.
Police said they found Trotter's children, ages 7 and 8, in what they described as a filthy, foul-smelling apartment strewn with animal feces, rotting food and other garbage.
They also found two pit bulls, one tied to a piece of furniture, the other to a door, standing in their own waste.
When the cops untied the dogs, "one ran to eat some scraps on the floor and then drank the last of the water out of the toilet," a police source said.
The children, who normally live with their mother, were taken home, and the two pit bulls were removed to the agency's Manhattan shelter - where Trotter works.
CACC officials said that Trotter works with animals at the shelter, cleaning their cages and caring for them.
Ed Boks, the agency's executive director, said that if the criminal charges warrant it, Trotter will be suspended.
"We certainly have zero tolerance for this type of behavior among our staff. It would be quite an anomaly if it's true," he said. "Our staff in the main are outstanding animal welfare professionals."
Police said Trotter was charged with endangering the welfare of the two children and with torturing and injuring animals. He was awaiting arraignment last night in Bronx Criminal Court. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Bronx County, NY
|
