Bloom Blog » Animal Cruelty

New Orleans officer booked with animal cruelty in St. John Parish

bloom — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:14:34 +0000

By Joy Hirdes, The Times-Picayune
January 21, 2010, 4:30PM
Nikia Adams.jpgNikia Adams

A New Orleans police officer was arrested this morning and booked with two counts of animal cruelty after authorities say one of her dogs died of severe malnutrition.

A second dog, a boxer, was removed from her LaPlace yard and turned over to the St. John the Baptist Parish animal shelter in severely bad shape, St. John Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Andy Breaux said.

Authorities say Nikia Adams, 28, of 1908 Cartier Drive, called the St. John animal shelter on Tuesday for help to remove the dead labrador retriever that weighed 23 pounds. The dog should have weighed 55, according to LaPlace veterinarian Dr. Phillip Thiac who examined the dog.

Although dog food was seen at Adams’ house and she told an animal shelter employee that she fed the dogs several times a day, a post mortem examination seemed to indicate otherwise.

“She told the animal shelter worker that she fed the dog a dozen times a day,” Breaux said. “Dr. Thiac said he found absolutely no food content in the dog’s body.”

Adams was booked into the parish jail with one felony count of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. She was released earlier today after posting her $4,500 bond.

Adams has been a district patrol officer with the New Orleans Police Department for 10 years, said Officer Gary Flot, a police department spokesman.

Michael Vick Accused of Executing Dogs: Should He Take the Plea Deal?

bloom — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:10:30 +0000

Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick’s pals ratted him out this morn ing. (Read their 12-page written statement here.) His two dogfighting business partners accepted a plea bargain, and as part of their deal, offered up evidence that Vick executed dogs who failed to pass preliminary test fight standards by electrocuting, hanging, or drowning them. With this deal, Vick is left standing as the sole defendant in the federal criminal case.

Vick’s got a deadline today to take a deal, too – with a recommendation of one year in jail – or go forward, alone, to stand trial on all these charges. Specifically, Michael Vick has been already charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. These charges have mandatory punishments under the sentencing guidelines established under federal law, and carry a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine. Executing the dogs? More charges can be added.

Should he take the deal?

If Vick’s totally innocent and squeaky clean here, and can prove it, then he should take his chances with a jury. However, if he’s not totally innocent AND totally confident that he’s got sufficient admissible evidence to prove it, then he should take the plea. One year is a lot less than five, and he’s got the money to pay the fine.

Why?

Federal law tries to achieve uniformity in punishment by setting up standardized sentences. You do crime X, you get sentence Y, no matter who you are, where you live, rich, poor, race, sexual orientation, celebrity status – you get the idea. If the federal prosecutors can prove their case, then you will serve time. No way around it.

However, if Vick takes the plea deal, the sentencing guidelines will allow for less punishment because of his “acceptance of responsibility” — which will lower his sentencing score under these federal sentencing guidelines. That standard 4 year sentence can get moved down to one year. Taking responsibility for one’s actions gets rewarded under the guidelines.

So, if you know you can’t win at trial, then 1 year is a lot better than 4. The possible new charges go away. Take the plea.�

Ving Rhames’ Pet Dogs – What Happens Now?

bloom — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:55:39 +0000

The latest news reports are that Ving Rhames’ dogs are not responsible for the death of their caretaker, although more than one dog did bite the man, more than once. The autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning; the four dogs that were found loose on the property (three Mastiffs and one Bulldog) have been taken, and are being held, by the authorities.

What happens now?

1. Ving Rhames may be facing a lawsuit filed by the caretaker’s Estate for wrongful death – in fact, that’s pretty much a slam dunk.

This would be true in most states, where the owner would be liable once it was proven that the death was due to the dogs attacking him (either because the victim died of dog bites, or from fear of the dogs’ attacking him which resulted in a heart attack). In most states, owners would have a defense: if they had no reason to know that the dogs had a “dangerous propensity” to harm folk, then they might not be legally liable for the harm.

However, California is one of the states that have enacted a “strict liability” law regarding dog bites: California Civil Code Section 3342 holds the owner legally responsible for ANY dog bites on his property when the victim had a legal right to be there.

What about your dogs? What if they bite someone? You need to check your local laws to see what your responsiblities are: some states follow California’s strict liability pattern; others take the “one free bite” approach.

2. What will happen to Ving Rhames’ dogs? Usually, dogs who have bitten a human are quaranteened for a short time, then returned to their owners. However, if they have killed someone, the local authorities may seek a court order to have them put down in the public interest for being too dangerous. Here’s a potential second legal fight for Mr. Rhames.