LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police say one of two suspects arrested in connection with the brutal death of an adopted dog bit an officer so hard during her arrest that he bled.
According to a report by FOX 59, 20-year-old Sierra Makin and 19-year-old Zech Thomsen were taken into custody by officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Saturday.
Court documents obtained by FOX 59 show that officers were called to the 700 block of Bosart Avenue in Indianapolis on Saturday after two witnesses reported that four people were torturing a dog. One of the callers told police the people had strung the dog up by his neck and a man had been stabbing it while it was still kicking. Both of the callers said someone put a trash bag over the dog's head after it stopped moving.
One witness said she drove by while the dog was being stabbed and someone in the group told her to "mind her own business."
Police say the dog, name Deron, was two years old and had been adopted days earlier from Indianapolis Animal Care Services.
When officers arrived at the home, they found Makin and another woman cleaning the porch. The woman allegedly told police there were no dogs at the home and directed them to a neighbor's house.
But police say, based on a caller's tip, they found the dog's body inside several plastic bags in a trash can. The dog had a leash around its neck, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by FOX 59.
At that point, one of the police officers walked back to the home where Makin and the other woman were cleaning. When he got there, Makin tried to slam the door shut and run away, according to police.
Police say the officer grabbed her arm and she punched him in the face. The other suspect, Thomsen, tried to stop the officer from putting handcuffs on Makin, according to court documents.
As police brought Makin outside, the allegedly big him on his left arm.
"Officer Smith could feel a chunk of his forearm was inside her mouth and feared losing skin as the bite was tightening rapidly," a probable cause affidavit states.
Thomsen then hit an officer in the back of the head after that officer came to assist, and both Makin and Thomsen swung their arms in an attempt to get away from the handcuffs, according to police.
Eventually, both suspects were subdued and taken into custody. The officer who was bit received medical treatment and antibiotics for his wound. The wound was red and swollen and Makin bit hard enough to draw blood and leave teeth marks behind.
Thomsen and Makin have received preliminary charges of Torturing or Mutilating a Vertebrate Animal, Animal Abandonment/Neglect, Resisting Law Enforcement and Battery of a Public Safety Official.
In response to the death of Deron, Elaine Thiel, a volunteer for Indianapolis Animal Control Services, says an online petition has been launched to require mandatory background checks for anyone wishing to adopt animals. She says those checks would weed out anyone with a violent criminal history.
She told FOX 59 she hopes to bring that petition to the city-county council for discussion.
"The city of Indianapolis needs to have some checks and balances for adopters of dogs when it comes to violent offenses," she said.
IACS responded to the incident with a written statement:
"We are heartbroken over this situation and we are supporting IMPD with their investigation. Our staff and volunteers are truly invested in the care and well being of all of our animals. It is always our goal that when animals are adopted, they go to loving forever homes. Prior to any animal leaving our building, staff checks each adopter or foster to see if they have a history of animal-related violations, the party (or parties) involved in this situation did not have a history with ACS."
While Thomsen had no animal-related charges on his criminal record, he was at one point charged with Criminal Confinement, Battery, Strangulation and Resisting Law Enforcement.
It's not known if there will be additional arrests
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