Posted on 05/12/2015 11:52:36 AM PDT by dware
ATHENS, Ga. – A Georgia man who saved a dog from a hot Mustang has been arrested for smashing a window to free the animal.
Multiple news outlets report that Michael Hammons of Athens was charged with criminal trespassing after freeing a small Pomeranian mix in distress from a hot car outside a store. Witnesses say that while a group of shoppers waited for police to arrive to free the dog, the Army veteran smashed the window.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I’d smash all the windows then.
You would HAVE TO believe that this will all get straightened out, sooner rather than later.
Well, that’s stupid.
When my B.I.L. was stationed in Sicily, my Sister accidentally locked the door of her VW with their baby inside.
She immediately panicked. A man came up, broke the vent window latch and opened the door. Of course she was grateful. Some people are action oriented and some are not.
He should demand a trial with a jury.
If the dog was laid-out on the seat and unresponsive, good for him. If not, WHAT AN IDIOT!
Not guilty. Fine the Mustang owner.
Sounds like the cops were forced to make the arrest.
My suggestion: insist on trial by jury. Call the car owner up to the stand as a hostile witness in your defence.
Later sue in civil court.
I was faced with this same situation in the middle of June here in New Mexico one time. I waited by the car for about 5 minutes before going to my truck to retrieve a hammer. When I returned a man was there opening the car. I spoke quite harshly with him only to find out this was his service dog! He was deaf, so my yelling at him was unheard, but I am certain he got the message. The outside temp was over 100 degrees and that dog was literally being cooked in that car. Had not the man been there when I got back with my hammer he would have found all his windows broken out with a happy and cool dog. I had no intention of waiting around if I had to have broken the windows. Some people are just so very stupid!!!
Classic situation for a “competing harms” or “necessity” defense. He should by all precedent be acquitted.
In the “No good deed shall go unpunished” category.
Ping!
Cops are never “forced” to make an arrest. Sometimes they can exercise judgment. In fact, in this case, they should have told the car owner:
“Fine, we’ll arrest that guy, and also arrest you for cruelty to animals. Tell us how you want this to go.”
I was at an airshow at Elmira, NY a few years ago. It was an extremely hot day and the announcer came on the horn to say there was a dog locked in a pickup and if the owner didn’t get to it within 10 minutes the State Police would smash the windows. The audience applauded this idea.
True.
Article says Georgia law allows one to break a window to free a child from a hot car but not an animal.
Isn’t this a situation in which we can say, there isn’t a law or regulation to cover every conceivable situation which comes up in life? Clearly the common sense solution is to break the window to free the animal. We have to debate whether the law allows it? And because Georgia law apparently doesn’t address this particular situation it means someone has to be arrested??? What the heck???
That’s the ‘thanks’ the poor service dog gets for all he’s done for the guy. Unbelievable.
HOLD ON, cop’s coming with a body bag, HOLD ON!
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