Former Arizona Cop Drags Pet Dog Behind Truck, Incident Caught On Camera

A former officer with the Mesa Police Department, Arizona, has been taken into custody after he was caught on camera dragging a dog behind his truck, investigators said Wednesday.

Court documents stated that police responded to property near Colt Road after receiving information that a dog was subjected to cruelty. The officers met the property manager, who said that he had witnessed a truck dragging a dog behind it, AZ Family reported.

The manager then showed CCTV footage to the officers, in which a large pickup truck was seen heading south on Colt Road with the brown canine being dragged a few feet behind it. The video also showed the manager attempting to flag down the vehicle on the street.

As part of the investigation, the officer visited an animal shelter down the street where they were told that a man named Spencer Allen had come there, claiming that he that found an injured canine on the street. He claimed that the dog was run over by a vehicle and that he wanted it to be put down.

The manager of the shelter told the officers that Allen walked in holding the dog by the collar. The canine was bleeding profusely and the skin on the back legs had been ripped off completely. The manager told Allen that the dog needed treatment and that it cannot be put down since it might have an owner. Following this, the accused left with the dog, saying that he is taking the canine to a veterinary hospital.

Investigators then went to the veterinary hospital where they were told that a man came in with an injured dog and asked the staff to put it down.

Allen filled out paperwork in which he claimed that the dog was a stray and he felt the dog "should just be euthanized." Staff noted that the accused was "exceptionally calm and collected for someone who had brought in a dog so extensively injured."

The canine underwent emergency surgery during which it was discovered that the dog's abdominal cavity was punctured, causing a collapsed lung. The dog eventually had to be euthanized, News 12 reported.

The accused was detained for questioning during which he confessed to the crime. He told the officers that the dog was his pet. The man was taken into custody and booked into the Pinal County Jail on animal cruelty charges.