Cop threatened colleague with Taser before bashing bunny to death
Bodycam footage from Aug. 16, 2024, caught the moment Grant County Sheriff's Deputy Alejandro Gomez demanded another deputy hand over a small rabbit that was found on a dirt road outside Hachita, a town just miles from the Mexican border, reported the Albuquerque Journal.
The deputy who found and was holding the animal believed Gomez would kill it, and only handed it over after Gomez threatened him with a Taser gun. Supervisors were also present at the time of the incident.
Advertisement
4 Deputy Alejandro Gomez of the Grant County Sheriff's Office promised the helpless animal would be safe.
Renee Pena Truitt / Facebook
In the video, Gomez, 27, swears on the life of his children he won't throw or kill the bunny.
But just moments after he's handed the animal, he smiles at the camera and then flings it at the vehicle with the force of a fastball.
Advertisement
The other deputy told New Mexico State police the bunny was clinging to life after the throw, and that he had to kill the animal to end its suffering.
4 Gomez grinned as he readied himself to throw the animal.
Renee Pena Truitt / Facebook
The diabolical deputy has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer and one count of extreme cruelty to animals, according to the Journal.
He will remain on paid leave until his criminal case is resolved. The supervisors are not facing disciplinary action.
Advertisement
4 The callous cop has been charged with five criminal counts.
Renee Pena Truitt / Facebook
'We don't think he did anything wrong, obviously,' Gary Mitchell, Gomez's attorney, told the Journal, calling it 'an inner-office situation that should not have turned into a criminal case.'
The attorney added that he was 'waiting to see what evidence the state has.'
Advertisement
The Journal reports Grant County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs investigators looked into the matter, with 'little or no action being taken against the deputies or supervisors involved.'
4 How low can one man get?
Renee Pena Truitt / Facebook
Days before the bunny was found, Gomez allegedly pointed his Taser at the same deputy following a disagreement over a cell phone, according to the outlet.
After the bunny died, Gomez was standing behind the same deputy when he allegedly pointed his service weapon at the officer's back.
When questioned about the threatening move, he told other colleagues he was 'only testing his duty-mounted light.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Trump's $10 billion suit against Rupert Murdoch could force him to reveal more about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein
President Donald Trump's latest defamation suit, filed in response to a recent story by The Wall Street Journal, could ultimately reveal more details about the president's relationship with the late financier, Jeffrey Epstein. Trump on Friday filed the lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson, and Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo. The suit, which seeks at least $10 billion in damages, accuses the group of committing defamation by publishing an article about a suggestive letter bearing Trump's name that the Journal reported was given to Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003. Trump has denied that he wrote the letter. Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor who served as lead attorney for Sandy Hook families in their defamation suit against Alex Jones, told BI that the lawsuit has three potential outcomes: the defendants move to dismiss the case with a limited discovery process, they skip the motion for dismissal and move instead for an open discovery process, or they settle out of court. If the suit doesn't settle — and there's no indication at this time that it will — the discovery process could make new revelations about Trump's ties to Epstein public, Mattei told BI. In a statement provided to Business Insider after the lawsuit was filed, a Dow Jones spokesperson said, "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit." Representatives for News Corp., Trump's legal team, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A potentially revealing discovery process Damon Dunn, a First Amendment and media attorney, told BI that, in order to win his suit, Trump would have to prove the story was false, damaging to his reputation, and published with constitutional or "actual" malice — a high legal standard requiring the plaintiff to prove the defendant knew the statement was false, or acted with reckless disregard for its veracity, when publishing it. "The provenance of the 'card' appears suspect, but, even so, is it defamatory that one millionaire sent a birthday card to another in 2003 before Epstein was discovered?" Dunn said, referring to the time before Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes. The discovery process could be limited to whether the Journal published with actual malice, even if it falsely attributed the card to Trump, Dunn said. That would be similar to when a court dismissed actor Justin Baldoni's defamation case against The New York Times, he added. However, Mattei said that the Journal may seek reciprocal discovery, meaning it can ask Trump to provide them with the information or evidence he has not only about the writing of the letter but also about his relationship with Epstein, even about the extent to which he was aware of Epstein's crimes. "If Trump's defense is that this was false, then any evidence suggesting that he had a relationship with Epstein, the degree to which that relationship was close or not, would be relevant to the question of whether or not it's likely Trump had any sort of role in this letter," Mattei said. "And so an aggressive Wall Street Journal here would seek broad discovery about the extent of Trump's relationship with Epstein." Dunn said it's possible the defendants may pursue a reciprocal discovery process, but it would be expensive, and Trump's relationship with Epstein would be of "questionable relevance" to the proceedings, so such a move may not be worth it in the end. Mattei said he felt Trump's case is unlikely to have merit, describing the suit as Trump's attempt to "explore what kind of power and leverage he has over the American media." Still, the judge will decide how long the procedural elements of the case take to play out. "There will be some period of weeks where The Wall Street Journal will be able to file its motion to dismiss if it wants to make a request for discovery, the judgment rule on that request could take a little bit more time," Mattei said. "And so if it is indeed contested, you could see the initial phase of this, including discovery, playing out over the next six months." Trump's long history with Epstein The suit against Murdoch and the Journal reporters comes as Trump continues to grapple with his ties to Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Trump has said that he was friends with Epstein for more than 15 years, beginning in the 1980s. The pair were regularly seen socializing at parties, and Trump told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein was a "terrific guy." Trump said in 2019 that he and Epstein had a "falling out" in 2004 after a real estate dispute, and he was "not a fan" of his former friend, The New York Times reported. Though publicly available documents related to Epstein's sex trafficking trial have not revealed any wrongdoing by Trump, his name and those of some of his family members were listed in one of Epstein's contact books, and Trump is mentioned as a passenger in flight logs for Epstein's private jets. As part of his reelection campaign, Trump promised he would make public all the available files related to the government's investigation into Epstein's crimes. After taking office, he changed his tune — and the Justice Department said it won't release any more " Epstein Files." In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump revisited the idea of releasing more Epstein-related documents, writing that he had asked the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval." "With that being said, and even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request," Trump said in the post. "It will always be more, more, more."
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tasers can't stop man after assaulting woman holding child, officers then use deadly force
An intense domestic situation with a man attacking a pregnant woman trying to shield her child led to officers using their Tasers several times and finally shooting and killing him, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Officers were called about 11:20 p.m. on July 15 to assist fire-rescue personnel in the 12500 block of Brahma Bull Circle near New Berlin Road. The family members who called 911 were already out of the house, but the officers could hear loud, frantic screaming from a man and woman inside. They kicked in a bedroom door and saw the room all disheveled and the man on top of the woman pulling her hair with the child in her arms, the Sheriff's Office said. He refused several commands to release her and back away, but continued to aggressively attack her, the Sheriff's Office said. "From behind the lady, he's holding her by the hair, just yelling and screaming ... not letting her go," Chief Alan Parker said. "She's holding onto a young child. We find out later that she is currently pregnant with that gentleman's baby it sounds like. Meanwhile, they're trying to separate them, so they end up tasing him. They're able to get her separated at that point." The officers backed off and began communicating with the suspect for about 30 minutes to get him to come out and surrender. When he finally came out, he remained combative. The Sheriff's Office noted he was a large man and had to be tased several more times. He fought through the tasings and attacked the officers. "He knocks one over and into a table and drives the other one all the way into the kitchen," Parker said. Three officers then shoot him. He died and one of the officers was treated for minor injuries while another "was a little banged up." The Sheriff's Office didn't say whether the woman suffered any injuries. The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Amir Bradsher. He has no local criminal history, according to Duval County court records, and appears to be from North Carolina. "Throughout this whole thing ... whatever he was saying they couldn't really make sense of, he's continuing to eat this lady's hair that he had ripped out during the fight inside the room. So there's this whole interaction and he's chewing on her hair and everything, so we don't know what he was going through." Sheriff T.K. Waters said it's a difficult situation. "You're there, you're trying to bring the situation to a close safely," Waters said. "But you walk in, you see a lady on the ground, he's literally pulling her hair and not letting her go." The Sheriff's Office identified the officers involved as Lucas Robinson, Kamau Richardson and Harold Taylor Jr. For Officers Robinson and Richardson, it was the first police shooting in two and five yeas with the force, respectively. For Sgt. Taylor a 16-year-veteran, it was his second. This marks the 11th police shooting this year in Jacksonville and seventh fatal. For all of last year there were eight with three fatal, according to Times-Union records. (This story has been updated with the officers' full names.) This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Police shoot, kill man chewing woman's hair during domestic assault
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
‘Monster' illegal immigrant accused of decapitating woman nabbed by ICE after judge set him free three months ago
An illegal immigrant accused of decapitating a missing woman and stashing her body in a bleach-filled container was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — three months after an Illinois judge let him walk on the gruesome charges, officials said. Mexican national Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, was nabbed Saturday afternoon at a Chicago market after being charged with concealing and abusing the corpse of Megan Bos in April, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News. Lake County Judge Randie Bruno shockingly cut the perp loose after his first court appearance. Advertisement 4 Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, was arrested by ICE in Chicago Saturday afternoon. FOX News 'It is absolutely repulsive this monster walked free on Illinois' streets after allegedly committing such a heinous crime,' a DHS spokesperson told the outlet. 'Megan Bos and her family will have justice.' Advertisement 4 Megan Bos, 37, was reported missing in March — just one month before her body was found. FOX News Mendoza-Gonzalez was first arrested in April after police discovered the 37-year-old victim's headless body stuffed inside a bleach-soaked storage bin in the yard of his Waukegan home, officials said. He allegedly told police the woman, who was reported missing in March after vanishing in February, had overdosed at his home, and instead of calling authorities, broke her phone, hid her body in the basement for two days, and later moved it outside, the outlet reported. 4 The Mexican national will now remain in ICE custody after a Illinois judge cut him loose back in April. FOX News Advertisement But police said Bos's corpse had been rotting in his yard for nearly two months before it was found. Mendoza-Gonzalez was locked up but released about 48 hours later under the state's controversial SAFE-T Act, which abolished cash bail and allows judges to determine jail time, no matter how severe the crime is, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner said at the time. 'I was shocked to find out literally the next day that the person that they had arrested for this had been released from prison under the SAFE-T Act less than, detained less, I think, than 48 hours,' he said, the outlet reported. 4 The headless body of Megan Bos was found in the alleged perp's yard in a bleach-filled storage bin. FOX News Advertisement 'There's other extenuating circumstances in this case. Not only the type of crime, how long the crime was concealed, the fact that the person that was arrested for this is not a U.S. citizen, and, you know, can maybe [flee] the country.' Mendoza-Gonzalez is now being held in ICE custody, officials said. DHS did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
