A North Carolina police officer is under investigation after berating a woman who rescued a panting dog from a hot car, prompting backlash and viral outrage online.
On a 90-degree day in Cornelius, North Carolina, Suzanne Vella spotted a dog trapped inside a parked vehicle at a local shopping center, WBTV reported. Alarmed by the animal's condition and unable to locate the owner, she called 911 and then opened the car, unlocked at the time, to offer the dog water.
Vella said she acted quickly to prevent the dog from suffering heat stroke, a risk that can escalate within minutes in such temperatures.
When an officer from the Cornelius Police Department arrived, Vella expected support, but instead, she says, she was reprimanded. According to a video shared from her at the scene, which has since spread across TikTok, the officer scolded her for entering another person's vehicle and repeatedly asked the dog's owner whether they wanted to press charges.
@tizzyent It seems Corporal Russel of the Cornelius Police Dept has his priorities mixed up.
♬ original sound - TizzyEnt
The owner declined and left. Vella was not charged, but said she was stunned by the officer's reaction. In the video, the officer can be heard demanding, "What right do you think you have to open someone's door?" to which Vella responds that a suffering dog in extreme heat justified her actions.
The police department later stated that officers cannot arrest someone for animal cruelty unless they witness the offense themselves. However, they confirmed an internal review was now underway to investigate both the dog owner's actions and the officer's response.
Neither the officer nor the dog's owner have faced disciplinary action or criminal charges.
