Neighbor shares video of officer attacking dog
KJRH, NEIGHBOR’S CELLPHONE VIDEO, PHOTOS FROM PET OWNER, CNN
By Justin Ayer
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BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma (KJRH) — Video of a Broken Arrow police officer charged with tasing and pepper spaying a dog in his neighborhood is still circulated around social media. The Wagoner County District Attorney has since charged William Ray Golden with a felony and misdemeanor charge for the incident.
It’s normal for Deanna Westbrook to sit on her porch in the morning. What isn’t is watching a police officer attack a dog.
“I heard Mr. Golden losing his cool,” Westbrook told 2 News. ” I just kinda looked over and was like, what the heck’s going on?”
Westbrook didn’t record Golden hitting, kicking, and tasing the dog. We found out from Golden’s criminal affidavit it was his other neighbor’s English bulldog, ‘Rusty.’
Rusty later jumped in Golden’s police car. Phone out now, Westbrook woke her husband, and he intervened by throwing a towel on rusty to distract him.
“My husband went over there to get this dog out, and the officer is fine with it and everything, and he kept saying he was going to shoot the dog,” Westbrook said.
Westbrook says her husband contained Rusty, but Rusty returned, and Golden got angrier. She says she watched him pull out his gun.
“He kind of pointed it randomly out there,” she said. “He didn’t point it at us – and he started walking angrily toward the dog, and when he got to the dog, I turned around.”
Westbrook says Golden didn’t shoot Rusty, But he was left with injuries.
According to the affidavit, there’s no record of Rusty being an aggressive dog.
Westbrook says Golden ignored her for multiple days after and found out an untrue story was circulating, so she turned him into the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office. Golden was charged last Friday.
“We decided if that’s the integrity he has, we’re going to report it,” Westbrook said.
2 News called Golden to share his side of the story but has not heard back.
Westbrook said Rusty will be okay with proper care. She says he’s been having daily seizures and anxiety since the incident.
Broken Arrow’s Office of Professional Standards is conducting an internal investigation on Golden. Those results will be sent to the police chief and city manager, who will determine what happens next for Golden.
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