Enzo, an innocent and defenseless Husky, murdered by incompetent San Joaquin County officials

- California, USA -

Following the murder of an innocent and defenseless dog, many people gathered at the crossroads of Pine and Sacramento streets in Lodi, San Joaquin County, on February 4, 2023, to remember, honor, and speak out for the furvictim, a 2-year-old male Husky named Enzo.

It all started on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, when Enzo escaped from his family’s home on Sandpiper Circle and ended up on nearby Finch Run where he was SENSELESSLY murdered.

According to the Lodi Police Department, they received a report about a dog chasing a family with young children into their home on Sandpiper Circle and trying to bite them.

In a news release, Lodi police stated: “Yesterday at around 3:12 PM, we received a report of an aggressive dog in the area of Sandpiper Circle. It was reported that this dog was a loose Husky breed and that it had chased a family, with young children, into their residence and was trying to bite them. The dog then began to try to get through the resident’s side gate, to attack their dog. When our Animal Services Officer arrived in the area, they saw a citizen using a piece of wood to block himself and his pet dog, from the vicious dog. Numerous attempts were made to try to catch the dog, however they were unsuccessful. Our Animal Services Officer tried to place the snare on the dog twice, but it broke free both times. LPD Officers had responded to assist our Animal Services Officer. At this time the aggressive dog approached a group of individuals that were standing out front of their residence and the officer deployed his taser, which is a less lethal device, to stun and incapacitate the dog, in order to give our Animal Services officer the opportunity to safely secure the dog. Unfortunately, during the incident the dog passed away. Lodi PD and Animal Services have been in contact with the dog’s owners.

Ultimately our officers were trying to control and secure the dog to protect the safety of the public.”

According to ABC10, a few neighbors who were on the scene during the incident, said that Enzo was not being aggressive at all. Mr. Hans Bruch told ABC10 that he and his 10-year-old daughter witnessed the tasing and described it as unnecessary. “Animal Control should have taken control of the situation because he has all the tools to deal with that and he didn't. And he kind of stood back and let the cop like tase,” said Mr. Bruch.

In surveillance video images obtained from neighbors, Enzo is tased twice before being dragged to an animal services vehicle.

In the news release, police did not identify the officers involved in the case, however, the two petitions I have come across and signed, identified them as Officer TIMOTHY IVEY, Officer CHRIS DELGADO, and Officer JORDAN KRANICH (City of Lodi animal control services).

One of the two petitions was started by Penny Eims, with Animal Victory, and is entitled: “Family’s Dog Tased And Dragged To Death By Police After He Accidentally Escaped From His Home.”

The other petition, started by Amy Young on change.org and entitled “Grant justice for Enzo – Lodi, California”, is addressed to Lodi Police Department Chief Sierra Brucia, San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas, and Lodi Animal Shelter Supervisor Jennifer Bender.

According to Amy Young’s narrative regarding the video, “Video footage shows officers unsuccessfully trying to use a snare pole to secure Enzo, due to improper training on a snare pole, Enzo was then tased multiple times while being dragged with the snare pole. He died a very torturous and horrific death. He had no chance of survival or escape of the painful death he incurred. Video surveillance also shows that Enzo was not aggressive or lunging at anyone. He did not attack any adults or children. The officers did not respond correctly to an animal at large call. In fact Officer Levy responded after being called by his wife, who complained there was a dog attacking people, even though she had no knowledge of any such attack. He should have contacted another officer to report to the scene as it falls under a conflict of interest.”

The petition therefore demands the suspension and subsequent termination of Officer TIMOTHY IVEY and Officer JORDAN KRANICH. The petition further demands that “based on California Penal Code [CPC] §597(a) – Animal Cruelty that felony charges be brought against both officers. Penal Code §597(a) makes it a crime to intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, wound, or kill a living animal. We are also seeking that they be charged with misuse of a non lethal weapon.”

On Monday, February 6, 2023, Lodi Police posted a new update announcing that the department has completed the investigation into the circumstances leading to Enzo’s death and said: “….. That investigation includes witness statements, officer statements, video of Enzo prior to his death, our dispatch logs, radio traffic, and our Animal Services' logs relating to prior complaints in the area. We have provided all of this information to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office for their review and determination of whether animal cruelty charges are warranted. After the DA’s determination we will be able to provide a further update to our community with what we learned in our investigation. An internal affairs investigation is also being conducted to determine if our employees violated any departmental policies. We can assure our community that we take this incident seriously and that we have placed significant importance on completing this investigation quickly and thoroughly. Additionally, we have moved to bring outside vendors into the department to provide additional training in dealing with at- large animals and we have started researching other tools available for our employees’ use.

Thank you again for your patience as we complete this complex investigation. “

Enzo’s human mom, Ms. Aline Galeno, described her furboy as sweet, loving, and goofy. She is certain Enzo did not attack anyone and maintains that he should have not been tased. Ms. Galeno has vowed to sue the city with the hopes of getting the officers involved fired. She rightfully said: “It's not going to go away. It's not going to get swept under the rug.”

Ms. Galeno created a GoFundMe to raise money for an attorney. “We can’t afford a lawyer and we are simply asking for your support to get justice for Enzo and to bring light to the horrible acts of these police officers involved,” she explained. She went on to say: “My goal is for these officers to be held accountable for their actions, and hopefully to get LPD to straighten out their law enforcement and do better.”

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Additional Sources:

KAKE.com

ABC10 – February 4, 2023

Video by Indisputable with Dr. Rashad Richey - Beloved Family Dog 'Enzo' Tased And Dragged To Death By Police