Current:Home > Contact-usJudge dismisses cruelty charges against trooper who hit loose horse with patrol vehicle-LoTradeCoin
Judge dismisses cruelty charges against trooper who hit loose horse with patrol vehicle
View Date:2024-12-23 22:35:56
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — A judge has dismissed felony animal cruelty charges brought against a Pennsylvania state trooper who hit a loose horse with a patrol vehicle multiple times and pinned it to the pavement, where it was then euthanized.
The ruling came Tuesday after Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe notified the judge that Cpl. Michael Perillo’s attorney intended to argue at trial that the horse had to be hit to prevent a potentially serious accident. Noting that the law requires people to value to lives of humans over animals, Barrena-Sarobe said “I believe the necessity defense is valid and would be successful at trial.”
Perillo was suspended without pay after the charges were filed in July 2022 by the state police internal affairs division. He had faced two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one count of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor, stemming from the December 2021 incident involving a horse on a highway in Chester County, west of Philadelphia.
The horse was on the road’s shoulder in Lower Oxford Township and had already been struck by a motorist before troopers were sent, authorities have said. Perillo drove a vehicle into the horse multiple times, causing it to fall, and then pinned the horse to the road. Another trooper then euthanized it.
Perillo, who enlisted in the state police in September 2006, was assigned to Troop J in Avondale. He has remained free on bail while awaiting trial.
His attorney, Williams Davis, told the West Chester Daily Local News that the decision to seek the dismissal was the correct choice and thanked the district attorney for seeking the dismissal.
“We always felt it was an unfair prosecution,” Davis said. “If my client had not taken action, things could have turned deadly. He was trying to protect other motorists.”
veryGood! (4273)
Related
- Judge recuses himself in Arizona fake elector case after urging response to attacks on Kamala Harris
- The Lyrids begin this week. How to see first major meteor shower of spring when it peaks
- Rob Gronkowski spikes first pitch at Red Sox Patriots' Day game in true Gronk fashion
- Former Marine sentenced to 9 years in prison for firebombing California Planned Parenthood clinic
- NFL power rankings Week 11: Steelers, Eagles enjoying stealthy rises
- Rangers clinch NHL's top record, Islanders get berth, last playoff spot still up for grabs
- John Sterling, Yankees' legendary broadcaster, has decided to call it a career
- Ken Holtzman, MLB’s winningest Jewish pitcher who won 3 World Series with Oakland, has died at 78
- Surprise bids revive hope for offshore wind in Gulf of Mexico after feds cancel lease sale
- He didn't want her to have the baby. So he poisoned their newborn's bottle with antifreeze.
Ranking
- FSU football fires offensive, defensive coordinators, wide receivers coach
- Tesla plans to lay off more than 10% of workforce as sales slump
- Rob Gronkowski spikes first pitch at Red Sox Patriots' Day game in true Gronk fashion
- Man killed, 9 others injured in shooting during Arkansas block party
- Oprah Winfrey Addresses Claim She Was Paid $1 Million by Kamala Harris' Campaign
- Hochul announces budget outline as lawmakers continue to hash out details
- NOAA Declares a Global Coral Bleaching Event in 2023
- Boeing pushes back on whistleblower’s allegations and details how airframes are put together
Recommendation
-
Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
-
Sisay Lemma stuns Evans Chebet in men's Boston Marathon; Hellen Obiri win women's title
-
Experts group says abortion in Germany should be decriminalized during pregnancy’s first 12 weeks
-
Wealth Forge Institute's Token Revolution: Issuing WFI Tokens to Raise Funds and Deeply Developing and Refining the 'AI Profit Pro' Intelligent Investment System
-
Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Throws Shade At Her DWTS Partner Sasha Farber Amid Romance Rumors
-
These businesses are offering Tax Day discounts and freebies
-
Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, WNBA draft prospects visit Empire State Building
-
Union settles extended strike with Pittsburgh newspaper, while journalists, other unions remain out