PETA asks for reassignment of Fayetteville officer involved in viral social media video

A national animal cruelty awareness organization is calling for the reassignment of a Fayetteville police officer seen in a viral social media video striking a dog.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently sent a letter to Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden, Assistant Chief Kellie Berge and Maj. Charles Hunt, with the department's Specialized Services Unit, asking that the dog be "immediately removed from the abusive handler" and the officer be reassigned to a position that does not deal with animals.

In the June 24 letter, PETA also asked that the Police Department review its policies to create more humane training methods for its working dogs, the release said.

“K-9s — through no choice of their own — risk their lives in the line of duty, just as human officers do, and deserve to be treated with respect and consideration,” PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said in a news release. “Police officers should be held to a higher standard of conduct, and PETA is urging the Fayetteville Police Department to reassign this abusive officer and reassess using K-9s altogether.”

The video, circulated on social media, shows the uniformed officer and dog struggling in a parking lot. It's not clear from the video if the dog is a police dog and the Fayetteville Police Department responded to requests for information.

At one point during the video taken by a bystander in front of a Walgreens on Owen Drive, the dog, which the officer is walking toward a patrol vehicle with the animal yoked up by its collar, attempts to bite the officer's leg. The officer then clamps his hand over the dog's muzzle and still holding the front legs in the air, continues toward the patrol car just as the video ends.

The Police Department acknowledged the video June 24 in a statement on its Facebook page and said the incident was being investigated by internal affairs. The officer and dog were not identified in the statement.

"We want to ensure to our community we take the concerns seriously and are taking all the necessary actions," the statement said.

The police department did not respond to questions asking for the officer's name, the dog's name and the reason police were at the scene.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.