“It’s becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America - mentally unstable cops”

Cop Who Killed Beloved Dog Indicted Could Face Jail Time After Grand Jury Indictment



By Dominic Kelly
Last month, Opposing Views told you about Jerrod Dooley, the Texas cop who fatally shot a dog while responding to a home invasion. Now, a grand jury has indicted the former sheriff’s deputy on an animal cruelty charge that could land him in jail.
Dooley, a 32-year-old Rains County officer, was immediately fired from the department following the incident. Cole Middleton, owner of the beloved dog named Candy, took to social media to share his story after his dog was killed. Middleton says that he called the police to report that his home had been broken into and items had been stolen, but when Dooley arrived, the officer fired shots through the back of Candy’s head, going through her eyes.
“I was so upset,” said Middleton. “I went over there to her and she was still alive and I begged and pleaded with him to please shoot her again because I don’t have any firearms. They got stolen. He went and got in his vehicle and backed out of my driveway. And then I had to do the unthinkable, the otherwise unthinkable. I had to kill my dog with my bare hands and put her out of her suffering, praying for this to be over with.”
From the start, Dooley claimed that the dog had charged towards him and that he was left with no choice but to shoot it, but a veterinarian confirmed that the dog was shot behind its head, so she had to have had her back turned to him when the shots were fired.
Dooley was promptly fired and within just a couple of weeks, a grand jury indicted him on animal cruelty charges that could land him in jail. His attorney Pete Schulte says that the charges are too harsh and they are hoping to be able to provide a clear vision of what happened on the day of the incident once they are in court.
"This is clearly a political knee jerk reaction by the DA in Rains County and there’s no chance that this case will stand up in court," said Schulte. "It’s a legal impossibility because he was acting within the scope of his employment as a public servant. We look forward to our day in court. They indicted him within two weeks. That never happens.”
Dooley insists that he did what he had to do and says that the attention this story has received has been overwhelming.
“I can’t go to the grocery store without being recognized, pointed at, laughed at," said Dooley. "Can't pay my water bill without hearing my name, saying 'There's the sorry cop that killed the dog.’”