Harris County DA Charges 3 Baytown Animal Control Officers With Improper Euthanasia

BAYTOWN, TX — Three Baytown animal control officers have been charged with improper euthanasia of dogs inside the Baytown Animal Control and Adoption Center, officials said.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that charges had been filed against Tod Brooks, 53, Veronica Jimenez, 33, and Christopher Nightingale, 27, for incidents that are alleged to have occurred in May 2015.

The Baytown police department began an investigation after a former employee claimed procedures for euthanizing dogs was not being followed at the shelter. (Want to get daily updates about news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

State law requires that animals are properly sedated before being euthanized, but according to the investigation that wasn’t happening, KTRK reported.

Harris County prosecutors said video surveillance from inside the facility shows employees euthanizing dogs without administering a sedative first, resulting in painful deaths for the animals, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“When people think of their local animal shelter, most are realistic and recognize that animals are being euthanized every day,” Assistant District Attorney and Animal Cruelty Section Chief Jessica Milligan said in a statement, “but they don’t want the animals to suffer.”

Prosecutors said in their release that animal control officers were allegedly seen on video surveillance stuffing the bodies of the euthanized dogs into trash bags without first checking their vital signs to make sure they were deceased.

Brooks, Nightingale and Jimenez face charges of improper animal euthanasia, a Class B Misdemeanor, which carries a possible jail sentence of six months, and a $2,000 fine if they are convicted, officials said.

Image: Pixabay

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