Mad Pig Disease: Woman Faced Jail Time for “Staring” at a Police Dog
June 6th, 2007Via: Times Argus:
A woman facing jail time for “staring” at a police dog had charges against her dropped Monday after an Orange County prosecutor viewed videotape of the alleged crime.
Jayna Hutchinson, now of Lebanon, N.H., was scheduled for a jury trial this week on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals.
A Vermont State Police sergeant said Hutchinson was intoxicated and stared at his police dog in a “taunting/harassing manner” last July while officers were in the process of investigating a reported melee outside a West Fairlee establishment.
“Prosecuting a woman for staring at a police dog is absurd,” said Kelly Green, a public defender appointed by Vermont District Court in Orange County to represent Hutchinson. She likened the act to giving a police officer the finger – a form of expression protected by rights accorded under the First Amendment.
“After looking at the video, I did not think it was worthwhile proceeding,” Orange County State’s Attorney Will Porter said Tuesday.
We need a regulation that docs police officer’s pay for presenting frivolous cases to the court
I was arrested once for teasing a police dog in Texas. A Halloween party was being broken up by the police, and one squad car had a police dog in the back seat. I happened to be wearing a werewolf mask, and as I passed the car I teased the dog with the mask. The dog went berserk and an officer told me to stop. I responded with something smart-ass like “didn’t mean to upset your doggy” and he told me to get up against the car, hand cuffed me, and I spent the night in jail. I was told that a police dog has the same legal status as an officer. I should have sued the livin you know what of them.
What we need is an IQ requirement for police. Some police departments prefer to hire people who have lower then average IQ, because such individuals tend to accept orders without questioning them. Unfortunately, when good judgement is called for, people with lower than average IQs characteristically respond with judgement that is also below average.
I strongly object to calling police officers “pigs.” Pigs are actually quite intelligent, loyal, and serve a useful purpose to humanity.