“Humane” officer who shot 5 kittens will not face disciplinary action

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Additional footage, including pictures, video, and story HERE.

Petition can be found HERE

Source Examiner
By Elisa Black-Taylor

North Ridgeville Police Chief Mike Freeman has now issued a statement that the part-time “humane” office hired by the city will not be disciplined for the shooting deaths of five young kittens. You can read the original article written only a few hours ago here.

Information has come out that the complainant was concerned about the odor of the cats, plus fleas getting into the home. This apparently gave Accorti the right to remedy the situation in the interest of health. Chief Freeman said the woman agreed to Accorti taking care of the problem, but she thought he would take the kittens to the shelter to be adopted or euthanized there. Not to start shooting in plain sight of her young children, who were watching from an upstairs window.

Despite an online petition, phone calls and emails calling for the firing of Officer Brad Accorti, according to an investigation, Accorti acted within the law when he shot and killed 5 8-10 week old feral kittens who were living in a woodpile on the complainants property.

The Facebook page for the department had to be temporarily taken down due to threatening statements being made. Freeman suggested the woman who called should have made herself more clear on what she wanted done with the kittens. He said shooting is an accepted form of euthanasia at research organizations and that he wouldn’t discipline an officer with 30 years experience in law enforcement.

Freeman stated in a press release Tuesday afternoon “To walk away and leave a safety issue unresolved is irresponsible. At no time does this agency condone or allow the indiscriminate killing of animals, but we will continue to assist residents when there is a safety or nuisance condition.”

Do you want to talk about a safety issue! How about discharging a firearm in a residential neighborhood with children as witnesses. Is this the impression police want children to take with them from a young age?

This officer may be experienced in law enforcement, but he doesn’t know the law. This is a lot of research condensed into just a few paragraphs, making this a long read. Unfortunately, it makes this a time-consuming but necessary read to understand just how many laws this officer has broken.

And for the chief to turn around and blame the woman who called about the kittens is surreal. Put the blame where it should go-with the officer who knew he was violating police policy.

The following are several paragraphs of the law according to the euthanasia laws for the state of Ohio (PDF). Listed below are excerpts that state this officer violated the law, and should face charges of animal cruelty. It’s NOT legal to shoot kittens as a form of euthanasia.

959.06 Destruction of domestic animals.
(A) No person shall destroy any domestic animal by the use of a high altitude decompression chamber or by any method other than a method that immediately and painlessly renders the domestic animal initially unconscious and subsequently dead.

4729.532 Performing euthanasia by means of lethal injection on animal.
(A) No agent or employee of an animal shelter shall perform euthanasia by means of lethal injection on an animal by use of any substance other than combination drugs that contain pentobarbital and at least one noncontrolled substance active ingredient, in a manufactured dosage form, whose only indication is for euthanizing animals, or other substance that the state veterinary medical licensing board and the state board of pharmacy both approve by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The agent or employee of an animal shelter when using a lethal solution to perform euthanasia on an animal shall use such solution in accordance with the following methods and in the following order of preference:
(1) Intravenous injection by hypodermic needle;
(2) Intraperitoneal injection by hypodermic needle;
(3) Intracardial injection by hypodermic needle, but only on a sedated or unconscious animal;
(4) Solution or powder added to food.
(B) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, no agent or employee of an animal shelter, other than a registered veterinary technician as defined in section 4741.01 of the Revised Code, shall perform euthanasia by means of lethal injection on an animal unless he has received certification after successfully completing a euthanasia technician certification course as described in this division. The curriculum for a euthanasia technician certification course shall be one that has been approved by the state veterinary medical licensing board, shall be at least sixteen hours in length, and shall include information in at least all of the following areas:
(1) The pharmacology, proper administration, and storage of euthanasia solutions;
(2) Federal and state laws regulating the storage and accountability of euthanasia solutions;
(3) Euthanasia technician stress management;
(4) Proper disposal of euthanized animals.
(C)
(1) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, no agent or employee of an animal shelter shall perform euthanasia by means of lethal injection on animals under this section unless the facility in which he works or is employed is licensed with the state board of pharmacy under section 4729.531 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any agent or employee of an animal shelter performing euthanasia by means of lethal injection shall do so only in a humane and proficient manner that is in conformity with the methods described in division (A) of this section and not in violation of Chapter 959. of the Revised Code.

According to Ohio Rev. Code Ann 959.01 Cruelty to animals is defined as: “Torture an animal, deprive one of necessary sustenance, unnecessarily or cruelly beat, needlessly mutilate or kill, or impound or confine an animal without supplying it during such confinement with a sufficient quantity of good wholesome food and water; affording it access to shelter; carry or convey an animal in a cruel or inhuman[e] manner.” Cruelty to animals is a 2nd degree Misdemeanor with a fine up to $750 and/or imprisonment up to 90 days. Cruelty to companion animals is defined as: “knowingly torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill, or commit an act of cruelty against a companion animal.” The first offense is a 1st degree Misdemeanor with a fine up to $1000 and/or imprisonment up to 90 days. A second or subsequent offense is a 5th degree Felony with a fine up to $2500 and/or imprisonment up to 12 months.

Ohio SPCA director Teresa Landon is writing a letter to the North Ridgeville Police Department and Mayor David Gillock asking that Accorti be fired and charged with animal cruelty. This writer suggests you do the same. Take the time to read the laws listed above, and you’ll realize that only a trained vet or vet tech using an injection can perform euthanasia in a peaceful setting.


Whom to contact

North Ridgeville Police Chief Mike Freeman
7307 Avon Belden Road
North Ridgeville, OH 44039
Phone 440-327-2191
Fax 440-353-0834
North Ridgeville Mayon G. David Gillock Phone 440-353-0811

Your comments are welcome, but please keep threats out of it, as they won’t help this issue.


Additional sites

http://www.cleveland.com/north-ridgeville/index.ssf/2013/06/north_ridgev…
http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/AnimalCrueltyLaws.pdf


Sample letter

Dear Chief Freeman,

With respect to the  part-time “humane” office hired by the city responsible for the shooting deaths of five young kittens, I respectfully request that Officer Brad Accorti be fired immediately and that penalties be applied.  First, only a trained vet or vet tech using an injection can perform euthanasia in a peaceful setting.  Second, according to Ohio Rev. Code Ann 959.01, these actions would clearly fall under that category of animal abuse.  Third, according to 959.06, “No person shall destroy any domestic animal by the use of a high altitude decompression chamber or by any method other than a method that immediately and painlessly renders the domestic animal initially unconscious and subsequently dead”.

When I try to imagine what possible motive animal abusers entertain for subjecting their animal victims to such malicious, heinous acts of brutality, I fail, but I am thankful for a lack of cognitive understanding and rationalization. To engage in such malevolent behaviour absolutely suggests sociopathic and sadistic tendencies and demonstrates an incontrovertible lack of morality regarding other living beings and a gross disrespect for the law. In fact, a person who shows such a remarkable lack of compassion towards animals has, disturbingly enough, the ability to show such indifference towards humans. This link between animal and human abuse has been established, and if we excuse or ignore these kittens’ violent killing, we would be serving an injustice to both animals and society.

Please respect the victims by penalizing the guilty and demonstrate your commitment to justice, responsibility, and integrity, attributes unquestionably necessary in a law enforcement setting: rejecting cruelty by maintaining an unyielding position towards it would be a model for all community members and would serve to characterize this type of behaviour as both impermissible and punishable.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent appeal.

when law enforcers break the laws of morality and man,
and the law itself is thrown into the garbage can.
when those in power, have license to abuse.
everyone can only lose.

Karen Lyons Kalmenson