Police in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, are investigating the torture and killing of a cat as a possible hate crime because the animal belonged to the girlfriend of a police officer.
Josie Saltarelli found her cat Capone in the yard cut in half and gutted on Saturday morning.
Saltarelli believes that this was done because her boyfriend, who she lives with, is a police officer.
“We loved him dearly, I loved him dearly, and it’s really awful that the last image in my mind is what we found,” Saltarelli told local station News4.
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The local station reports that “the Broken Arrow police Department says their investigation confirms someone, not thing, had to have killed the cat and left his body in front of the house.”
“With the vilification of police officers right now, it’s awful and we’ve been scared for him to go to work for months, and now we feel that way at our home,” Saltarelli said.
Broken Arrow Police Officer Mike Peale said that it is possible that the killing was a hate crime.
“As in everything we investigate, we want to find justice for the victims,” said Officer Mike Peale. “We love our pets in Broken Arrow, so we take all crimes seriously, but certainly something of this magnitude kind of gets a little extra attention.”
So far, there are no suspects.
The Oklahoma Alliance for Animals has pledged a$1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
If this was in fact inspired by or committed by Black Lives Matter, it would not be the first time an animal was tortured for their cause.
Just last week, Black Lives Matter activists tortured and ran over a raccoon and argued that “only white people worry” about animals.
Memphis rioters also abused a puppy on live television in June.
A horrific incident has been circulating on social media regarding a #puppy that was allegedly stolen & later found dead during the #Memphis protests. 💔🐕
WAN has reached out to the @AdoptMas who is currently investigating.
🚨If you have any info, email 👉 pic.twitter.com/BPKKqq3wIi
— World Animal News (@WorldAnimalNews) June 4, 2020
