A New Mexico police officer laughed as he fatally injured a tiny baby rabbit by throwing it at his vehicle, after threatening his colleague with a TASER.
Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Alejandro Gomez, 27, was caught in cellphone video from August of last year horrifically injuring the animal.
In the clip, Gomez can be seen demanding that an unnamed deputy hand over the animal that was found outside the town of Hachita, near the Mexican border.
The deputy who found the small critter was holding the animal close, saying that he thought Gomez would kill it. Gomez swears on his kids he won’t kill the animal.
He only hands it over after Gomez threatens him with a stun gun, telling him: ‘Give it to me right now’.
Now holding the animal, Gomez then throws it against the side of their vehicle while smiling as fellow officers laugh.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the other deputy later told New Mexico State Police that the animal was fatally injured and had to be killed so ‘it would not suffer’.
Gomez has been placed on leave and is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer and one count of extreme cruelty to animals.
Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Alejandro Gomez, 27, was caught in cellphone video from August of last year horrifically injuring the animal
The deputy who found the small critter was holding the animal close, saying that he thought Gomez would kill it. Gomez swears on his kids he won’t kill the animal
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office said that he would remain on leave until the case was resolved.
State Police, who are probing the incident, said the sergeant and corporal who witnessed the cruelty ‘failed to intervene as required by New Mexico Statute’.
Neither of the two have been placed on leave and both are still employed at the office, the journal reported.
Gomez’s attorney Gary Mitchell told the outlet: ‘We don’t think he did anything wrong, obviously.
‘We’re waiting to see what evidence the state has. But it sounds like an inner-office situation that should not have turned into a criminal case.’
An arrest affidavit says the group of officers stopped in the road after spotting the rabbit in the middle of the road.
The deputy seen reluctantly handing over the animal said that he ‘believed that if he just set the animal loose, Deputy Gomez would be able to pick it up and hurt it’.
It added: ‘Deputy Gomez threw the animal with such force that it fatally wounded the animal. A huge thud was heard as it struck the side of the patrol vehicle.’
Gomez, left, has been placed on leave and is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer and one count of extreme cruelty to animals
State Police, who are probing the incident, said the sergeant and corporal who witnessed the cruelty ‘failed to intervene as required by New Mexico Statute’
The deputy reported the incident and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office conducted their own probe.
The affidavit said that the internal investigation resulted in ‘little or no action being taken against the deputies or supervisors involved’.
It is also claimed that Gomez and the deputy had a run in days before the incident, after Gomez pointed his Taser at the deputy after having stole the deputy’s phone.
A few hour after the rabbit incident it is alleged that Gomez pointed his gun at the deputy behind his back and said he was ‘only testing his duty-mounted light’, it adds.
The clip has surfaced on social media, sparking widespread outrage over Gomez’s behavior.
One person said: ‘That’s so inhumane and these are the people that are supposed to be protecting our community.’
Another added: ‘I hope they are punished for that. Every single one of them!’, while one other commented: ‘Horrid.’
