Justice for Bella

Justice for Bella

Bella's owners went out to dinner. When they returned, they realized their two dogs had escaped the fence. A neighbor called Animal Control. When Bella did not respond to the officer, he chose to execute her.
Mission:
It is the mission of Justice for Bella to:
• raise awareness of the violations of law that have been conducted by Cabarrus County, NC;
• hold law enforcement officers accountable for their actions;
• fix the systemic flaws of the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Department, and their Animal Control Division, which led to this occurrence;
• ensure that animal control officers are properly trained to do their job;
• seek the termination of those involved in both the execution of Bella, and the fostering of an environment where such an event could have taken place;
• seek criminal prosecution of those who violated the law; and
• ensure that the civil liberties of animal owners are not cast aside by officials oblivious to the law.

Story From Fox Charlotte News

Morgan Fogarty

Story Created: May 4, 2010 at 11:22 PM EDT

Story Updated: May 27, 2010 at 11:57 AM EDT
CONCORD, N.C. - Bella and her buddy got out of their fenced yard last Thursday while their owners were at dinner.

UPDATE: Sheriff Investigates Pit Bull
Shooting

Witnesses say the pit bulls ran down into another yard. A woman, fearful of the dogs, called for help. Concord Police responded and tried to catch the dogs for 42 minutes. One of the dogs, Jaxson, was easy to corral. But Bella proved to be more difficult. FOX Charlotte's Morgan Fogarty asked, "Was it snapping or charging?" Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Bryan Archer says, "From what I was told, yes it was.”

Archer works in the with animal control division of the Sheriff's Office. He says one of his deputies showed up to help Concord Police and spent 56 minutes trying to catch the dog. Archer says his deputy, Sean Austin, never witnessed the animal act aggressively toward adults or children nearby, but he chose to shoot and kill it. "We couldn't do anything with the dog, we had to finally make a decision,” says Archer.

Jeff Daniels, the owner of both Bella and Jaxson, says witnesses told him, "The animal control officer chased her in between two houses and shot her as she was running away." Daniels came home from dinner and realized his dog had been killed. He questioned Austin and recorded it on his iPhone. It's video the sheriff tells FOX Charlotte he wants to see. The video shows Daniels saying "But you said that she didn't show any aggression toward you, you know? You told me that. She didn't show any aggression...why can't you..." Austin is seen in the video saying, "I'm not sitting there for three hours when I got calls in!” Daniels then asks, "So what's your time limit? Is it 20 minutes? Is that what it is?"

One witness has also provided a written statement about Bella the dog, reading "At no time...did I ever feel that she was a danger or aggressive to any person out there."

Fogarty asked Archer, "What would you say to other pet owners who see this...and maybe worry, oh my God, if my dog gets loose and the officers can't catch it, they're gonna shoot it?" Archer responded, "We do everything we can do to keep from having to shoot one."

Daniels couldn't hold back his emotion when he said, “The law states that dogs are property, but my dog wasn't property. Not to me or my family. She was a part of my family.” He has retained an animal rights attorney in Raleigh. He is considering suing.

Animal control says prior to the shooting, it had never gotten a complaint or call about Bella. The department also says Deputy Austin couldn't have used a tranquilizer gun because he doesn't have the proper certification for that tool. Sheriff Brad Riley is looking into the deputy's actions.