EVANSVILLE — An Evansville police officer shot and killed a dog during an animal welfare call earlier this month, and now prosecutors have charged its owner with animal cruelty.
Prosecutors filed the misdemeanor charges against 49-year-old Jabbar Davis on Wednesday, according to court records.
Davis was booked at the Vanderburgh County jail Thursday afternoon and later released on bond, the jail’s website states.
Davis’ arrest comes after a Jan. 6 action by police and Evansville Animal Care and Control regarding the inadequate housing of an outdoor dog that ended in gunfire.
According to the Evansville Police Department, which published an account of the incident in a news release, an EPD officer shot and killed Davis’ dog after the dog exhibited “aggressive behavior.”
The department quickly published body-worn camera footage of the shooting, which showed an officer, who has not been named, drawing and firing their pistol as a large dog ran toward them.
“No one wants this outcome, not the pet owner, the police officer or our community members,” EPD spokeswoman Sgt. Taylor Merris wrote in a statement to the Courier & Press earlier this month.
Police were at Davis’ College Highway residence Jan. 6 due to concerns about the dog’s care, which culminated that day in a directive to remove the dog from the property.
The dog allegedly lived in an open-air kennel despite the winter season’s below-freezing temperatures. Police say a water bowl inside the kennel was frozen solid when they arrived on scene.
In the department’s news release, officials said Animal Care and Control had visited Davis’ property multiple times prior to the incident.
According to court records, a hearing in Davis’ case was scheduled to be held Friday morning.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville man facing animal cruelty charges after police shoot dog