A former Slaton police officer has been arrested over a shooting that happened while he was on duty in July — not of a person, but of a dog. The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office arrested Jose Gonzalez, 24, on Friday, November 13, on a charge of cruelty to non-livestock animals, KCBD News reported. Gonzalez is accused of shooting and killing a dog while on duty in July.

Source: KCBD News, Lubbock

The Slaton Police Department confirmed on Friday that a former officer had been arrested on a warrant for cruelty to non-livestock animals, EverythingLubbock (KAMC) reported. Slaton is a small city in Lubbock County, southeast of the city of Lubbock in West Texas.

Source: EverythingLubbock (KAMC)

The July shooting

According to court documents reported by KCBD, Gonzalez said the dog bit him on the ankle before he shot it with his handgun. The dog was killed. That account is Gonzalez's version of the encounter, recorded in court documents; the cruelty charge means prosecutors allege the shooting was unlawful, and a court — not the arrest — will decide whether it was justified.

How body-camera footage built the case

The case moved from an internal question to a criminal one through the officer's own recording. An investigator with the Slaton Police Department was assigned to review the case, and an inspector with the Slaton and Lubbock police departments reviewed body-camera footage of the incident, KCBD reported. A grand jury then indicted Gonzalez on November 10, and the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office carried out the arrest three days later.

24Age of Jose Gonzalez
Nov 10Grand jury indictment
Nov 13Arrest by the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office

What the department says

Slaton Police Chief Ross Hester said in a statement that the department takes allegations of criminal misconduct seriously, and that it would not comment further on an ongoing criminal matter, KCBD reported. The reports describe Gonzalez as a former officer; neither report states when he left the department or in what circumstances.

The charge, and why these cases draw attention

Cruelty to non-livestock animals is the Texas charge used when someone is accused of unlawfully harming a domesticated or pet animal, as opposed to livestock. Encounters between police and dogs are a recurring flashpoint in American policing debates, because officers entering homes and yards regularly meet animals they read as threats. What makes the Slaton case stand out is the route it took: the decisive evidence was the department's own body camera, the review was done inside law enforcement itself, and it ended with a grand jury indictment rather than an internal reprimand.

Allegation, not a verdict

Gonzalez is charged, not convicted. He is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the cruelty charge in court, and his account — that the dog bit his ankle before he fired — is part of the court record that a jury would weigh.

What happens next

The case now moves through the Lubbock County courts, beginning with a first court appearance; no court date had been announced in the first reports. Awaaz Punjab will follow the case as filings and hearing dates are published.