There is NO excuse for this behavior. ZERO. NONE. And his attorney says to knock it off. He has been punished. TOO BAD! BOO HOO. I hope this follows him for the rest of his miserable life. These weren't even random dogs. They were his own pets!!! NO excuse for this piece of garbage whatsoever. People, for the most part, can defend themselves. THIS falls under an entirely DIFFERENT category and WHY people are so passionate about animal abuse, Shamansky MORON.
This is just one of countless stories of animal abuse. Hopefully awearness will create stiffer penalties for these sub-human individuals and laws will be changed.
-Courtesy of CNN
Firefighter faces jail for killing dogs
Columbus, Ohio, firefighter ties his two dogs in basement, shoots them
David Santuomo dumped carcasses in firehouse trash bin
He gets 90-day jail sentence, to be served 10 days at a time
Fire division discipline could range from verbal reprimand to discharge
By Jim Kavanagh
CNN
(CNN)
-- An Ohio firefighter faces jail time and may lose his job for
shooting his two dogs to death rather than pay to board them while he
went on a cruise.
Columbus firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43,
took Sloopy and Skeeter to his home's basement, suspended them from a
pipe near the ceiling and fired at least 11 shots from a .22-caliber
rifle fitted with a homemade silencer, Franklin County Prosecuting
Attorney Ron J. O'Brien said.
Santuomo then wrapped the carcasses
in plastic and dumped them in a trash bin behind Firehouse 27, where he
worked, O'Brien said.
"This is pretty heinous," said Cheri
Miller, spokeswoman for the Capital Area Humane Society, which carried
out a search warrant in Santuomo's home. The humane society has limited
law enforcement powers in Franklin County.
Santuomo pleaded
guilty in June to two misdemeanor counts of improperly killing a
companion animal and a felony count of possession of a criminal tool.
Santuomo had fashioned a makeshift silencer by taping a 2-liter soda
bottle to the end of the rifle. The incident happened in December.
Miller said appalled fellow firefighters turned Santuomo in to authorities.
"There were reports that he was bragging about this," she said.
Santuomo
initially told investigators the dogs had ingested antifreeze and he
killed them to put them out of their misery, Miller said. However,
after necropsies showed the dogs were not poisoned, the firefighter
admitted shooting them because he couldn't afford to board them, she
said. Public records show Santuomo has twice filed for Chapter 7
bankruptcy protection and underwent a home foreclosure in 2003.
The
Columbus
Division of Fire has received more than 2,000 outraged e-mails and
calls from the public, said Battalion Chief David Whiting, the
department's spokesman.
"People are not very happy," he said. "We
had people say they should do to him what he's done to the dogs. A lot
of people want him fired. They don't want him coming into their house.
They're worried about their animals; they're worried about their kids.
They'd just as soon let their house burn down if he shows up."
The
Division of Fire has concluded an internal investigation, including
interviews with Santuomo, Whiting said. The report now goes to Fire
Chief Ned Pettus Jr., who will schedule a disciplinary hearing.
Punishment, if any, could range from a verbal reprimand to firing,
Whiting said. With appeals and possible arbitration, the whole process
could take a month or more, he said.
In the meantime, Santuomo is
working in the division's fire alarm office, "where he is not dealing
face to face with the public," Whiting said. If he remains employed
with the fire division, he will return to his regular assignment,
though that could bring a new set of challenges, Whiting added.
"If
someone did this that worked next to you at work, how would you feel
about working with him?" Whiting asked. "We'll cross that bridge when
we come to it. ... There are a lot of options."
Santuomo has only minor disciplinary matters, such as tardiness, in his record, Whiting said.
Santuomo was
sentenced
to 90 days in jail, to be served in 10-day increments over the next two
years. He also has to pay $4,500 in restitution, perform 200 hours of
community service, stay away from companion animals for five years and
write a letter of apology to be published in the local newspaper and
the International Association of Firefighters magazine, the humane
society's Miller said.
Santuomo's attorney said that his client
is remorseful over his actions and that people need to temper their
outrage. "It's the same old story. They couldn't care less about people
and they love animals," lawyer Sam Shamansky said.
The firefighter, who could not be reached for comment, has no criminal history other than traffic violations, Shamansky said.
"It,
of course, was a heinous act, and it's an act for which he's sorry and
has accepted responsibility," Shamansky said of the dog killings. "He's
been punished appropriately, and I think it's now time for the public
to practice what they preach and show a little forgiveness and mercy.
Maybe that might be a novel approach."