Lindseym07
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN
Hi everyone. Sorry for the length of this, I just wanted to make sure not to miss any details. Thanks for any input.
I recently discovered that my neighbor had abandoned his two dogs for over a month and they were skin and bones, almost dead. The only reason I believe they were still living is because they had dirty pool water to drink from. I fed them and called the shelter and an investigating officer came and got them. When I asked about the progress of the investigation on this cruelty/neglect case I was told the police practiced discretion in cases like this and it is basically up to them and they chose not to charge the owner. I am very concerned that he got off scott free. Is it true that police officers can not charge someone just because they don't feel like it? I feel like this is a gross injustice because the dogs would have definitely died if I had not noticed that there hadn't been a car there for so long. I was told they chose to drop the case because when the man was finally contacted about this issue, he decided to give the dogs up without resisting. I think this should be even more reason to charge him because it just goes to show that he didn't care at all about the dogs. If this were something like a drug case and the suspect "willingly" gave up their cocaine I seriously doubt they would drop charges due to it. I do not understand how there can be leniency on cases like this when it seems like such a horrendous thing to do. People have to pay fines for doing things that aren't nearly as bad (at least in my eyes), such as speeding. I guess my question is is it really a subjective matter and what can I, as a concerned citizen, do about it. I'm also unsure if the policy on this differs between cities/states, so I live in Bartlett, TN to clarify. I've tried to look up the law on this but I can't seem to find anything. Thanks for any responses, I truly appreciate it.
Hi everyone. Sorry for the length of this, I just wanted to make sure not to miss any details. Thanks for any input.
I recently discovered that my neighbor had abandoned his two dogs for over a month and they were skin and bones, almost dead. The only reason I believe they were still living is because they had dirty pool water to drink from. I fed them and called the shelter and an investigating officer came and got them. When I asked about the progress of the investigation on this cruelty/neglect case I was told the police practiced discretion in cases like this and it is basically up to them and they chose not to charge the owner. I am very concerned that he got off scott free. Is it true that police officers can not charge someone just because they don't feel like it? I feel like this is a gross injustice because the dogs would have definitely died if I had not noticed that there hadn't been a car there for so long. I was told they chose to drop the case because when the man was finally contacted about this issue, he decided to give the dogs up without resisting. I think this should be even more reason to charge him because it just goes to show that he didn't care at all about the dogs. If this were something like a drug case and the suspect "willingly" gave up their cocaine I seriously doubt they would drop charges due to it. I do not understand how there can be leniency on cases like this when it seems like such a horrendous thing to do. People have to pay fines for doing things that aren't nearly as bad (at least in my eyes), such as speeding. I guess my question is is it really a subjective matter and what can I, as a concerned citizen, do about it. I'm also unsure if the policy on this differs between cities/states, so I live in Bartlett, TN to clarify. I've tried to look up the law on this but I can't seem to find anything. Thanks for any responses, I truly appreciate it.