A bodybuilder strangled a dog in the back of a police car before assaulting the officer who wrestled the animal away from his abuse. Michael McCormack, 33, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and assault of an emergency worker, reports Manchester Evening News.
The incident occurred in 2020, when officers were called to an address in Cheshire regarding reports of a 'domestic assault'. Stockport Magistrates Court heard McCormack's partner was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, prosecutor James Hudson said.
PC Jackson and PC Martyn Stone, who is no longer a police officer, offered to drive McCormack to his sister's address in Manchester. The 33-year-old accepted their offer and brought the dog, whose age and breed was not disclosed in court, into the police car with him.
He sat it on the back seat next to him with the two officers taking position in the front of the vehicle. Giving evidence to the court, PC Jackson said McCormack was initially "meek and mild" and was "very apologetic" about what had happened.
However he said as they made their way down the A34 that quickly changed and McCormack "became more and more aggressive" and was "talking nonsense."
McCormack's words were "indiscernible" and the dog also became "agitated" and was "growling". As he looked into the back seat, PC Jackson, stated he saw McCormack "dragging the dog about" and "applying pressure to its neck", initially with the lead but then also with his hands.
PC Jackson said: "He was making the dog suffer somewhat. It was growling. It was clearly struggling to breathe."
PC Jackson said he wrestled the dog from McCormack and put it in the front of the vehicle as a struggle ensued with the 33-year-old.
PC Jackson added: "He was trying to get into the front of the vehicle. He made threats.
"He was much bigger than I was. He was a bodybuilder. I was trying to hold him in his seat but it was a struggle."
Mr Stone, the victim of the assault, said during the trip McCormack "became verbally abusive to the dog he had with him."
He said he was "making comments to the dog that he wanted to sexually assault the dog." He then said he could hear the dog "growling" and acting "as if it was struggling to breathe."
McCormack pleaded not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and assault of an emergency worker at a previous hearing. He was not present at court last week with a legal representative telling the court before the trial got underway that McCormack had told him he had suffered a prolapse and was in pain, so was unable to attend.
However, magistrates ordered the trial to proceed in his absence after hearing it had already been previously delayed due to a medical issue which he failed to provide evidence for. As a result, no defence to the charges was offered and he was convicted following a trial in his absence.
Chairman of the bench Michael Dunstan said the magistrates had found the police officers to be "credible and consistent" in their accounts as they found him guilty.
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