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.
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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.
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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.
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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.'
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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.'
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