Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Officer Eugene Taylor Charged with Killing Girlfriend's Puppy

A Baltimore City police officer is charged with animal cruelty and abuse of an animal after allegedly killing his girlfriend's puppy, say Montgomery County Police.

Officers arrested 27-year-old Alec Eugene Taylor for intentionally and cruelly killing a seven-month-old puppy that belonged to his girlfriend. Taylor is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and abuse or neglect of an animal.

Police tell us that police officers and animal services officers were called to a home on Castle Boulevard on Feb. 28. Taylor's girlfriend told officers that Taylor had beaten and killed their seven-month-old Jack Russell Terrier named Rocko.

Officers later discovered that on Feb. 26 at approximately 4:30 p.m., Taylor sent a text to his girlfriend stating that Rocko had pooped on the carpet and that he had killed the dog. Police say Taylor also texted a photograph of what appeared to be a lifeless dog.

Police say Taylor told his girlfriend during a follow-up call that he was tired of cleaning up the dog's mess and that he had beaten the dog with a mop. He also told her he had put the dog in a dumpster in the parking lot. She asked Taylor to take Rocko out of the dumpster so that she could bury the dog, according to police. That evening, she returned home from work, took Rocko from a shoe box on the apartment balcony, and buried the dog at a neighborhood park in Hyattsville.

Animal Services officers recovered the dog and performed a necropsy, say police. Results show that the immediate cause of death was acute hemorrhagic shock likely due to blood loss from liver damage caused by blunt force trauma, according to police.

Animal Services Division officers spoke with Taylor, who stated that he used a mop to force Rocko from behind the dryer and then used his hands to choke Rocko until he was dead, say police.

Officers obtained a warrant for Taylor's arrest on Tuesday. Taylor turned himself into officers on Wednesday. He was transported to the Central Processing Unit and charged with aggravated animal cruelty (a felony) and abuse or neglect of an animal.

The Baltimore Police Department released the following statement:

"The Baltimore Police Department is conducting an administrative investigation into the incident contained in the charges filed this morning by the Montgomery County Police Department against Officer Alec Taylor. Allegations of animal cruelty are taken seriously by the Baltimore Police Department. Over the course of the last year significant emphasis has been placed on developing and training investigators to handle animal abuse incidents in Baltimore. Alec Taylor is a five-year veteran of the Department and will be suspended without pay."

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