GREENWOOD — A man is in custody after police say video shows him beating and throwing his mother's 16-year-old dog until it died.
Officers were called to the home on Downing Drive around 2 p.m. Sunday for a report of animal abuse. A man and a woman at the residence showed officers video surveillance footage showing a 35-year-old man attacking a dog inside the home. The dog, which was a 16-year-old Border Collie named Gypsy, was identified as belonging to the man's mother, according to police.
A police report says the couple came home to find the dog dead inside the home and while they were attempting to bury the dog they found surveillance footage that showed what had happened. In the 12-minute video, police say the man can be seen pacing the room, sweating profusely and yelling. He is then heard screaming "I'm going to f***ing kill you", "I'm going to jump on your face", "Die mother f***er," and several other aggressive phrases toward the dog.
Police say you can hear the man "hitting and kicking" the dog repeatedly and you can hear the dog whimpering in response. Toward the end of the 12-minute video, police say you can see the man pick the dog up over his shoulders and throw her down. The man then sits back down and exclaims, "You stupid b****, God you're stupid."
According to the arrest report, the man initially denied touching the dog until police said they had surveillance video. The man then changed his story, saying he did "kick and throw" the dog, but he did not kill her.
The man has been preliminarily charged with killing a domestic animal. Formal charges will be filed by the Johnson County Prosecutor's Office.
The incident remains under investigation.
