PETA is holding a protest outside the Fayetteville police building on Friday

A national animal rights group is holding a protest outside the Fayetteville Police Department on Friday to demand the firing of an officer who was seen on viral video beating a police dog in June.

The protest, organized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, will take place at 12 noon in front of the police headquarters at 467 Hay Street, the press release said.

“The department’s official statement on the incident says an internal investigation found nothing wrong and goes so far as to blame the sniffer dog – who apparently bit the handler out of fear – for the abuse,” a press release said Wednesday. “PETA is calling on the Fayetteville City Council to hire an outside agency to conduct an unbiased, proper investigation of the incident – and is calling for the officer involved to be fired, the sniffer dog to be retired, and the department to reevaluate its use of sniffer dogs.”

The PETA statement said the incident shows that police need to end their K-9 program.

“Because the department is failing to protect its police dogs from further abuse, PETA is calling for an independent investigation into this incident of violence and the officer responsible,” Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA’s senior vice president of animal cruelty investigations, said in the press release.

Related:According to a viral video, a police officer hit a dog seven times after it bit him.

The viral video

On June 23, social media users began sharing a video filmed by a passerby showing a uniformed Fayetteville police officer and the dog fighting in a parking lot outside a Walgreens store on Owen Drive.

The video shows the officer hitting the dog on the head several times before walking toward a patrol car with the dog tethered by its collar. When the dog tries to bite the officer’s leg, the officer puts his hand on the dog’s muzzle and, still holding the dog by its collar and lifting its front legs off the ground, continues walking toward the patrol car.

Related:PETA calls for transfer of Fayetteville officer involved in viral social media video

Internal investigation

On July 5, the police department announced that the internal investigation was complete. A press release said the incident occurred when the officer and his dog were asked to “sniff” the outside of a properly stopped motor vehicle. The department stated that the sniffer dog bit the handler on the thigh during the stop and refused to let go.

The police department said the officer, who was receiving medical treatment for his injuries, was forced to strike the animal several times 10 to 12 seconds after the bite.

The press release provided further details of the completed internal investigation, including that three police records were reviewed, but did not provide information on the status of the officer and dog involved.

Other details in the press release included:

The dog was examined by a veterinarian after the incident and had no documented injuries.
The video posted on social media does not show the entire incident.
The officers deployed the sniffer dog and “gave a warning call on the passenger side of the vehicle.”
The handler placed the dog on the driver’s side of the vehicle, “with the dog jumping on the driver’s door and the handler giving corrective commands.”
The sniffer dog then circled the officer from behind and bit him in the thigh.
The dog “refused to release the bite when the handler gave verbal commands and attempted to correct the dog’s behavior by manipulating the collar.”
While the officer was being bitten, “he had to walk over and around the dog to gain a position of control while attempting to stop the aggression.”
The incident was reviewed by the department’s internal master handler and chain of command.
The K-9 team’s training records have been reviewed.
The incident was reviewed by three independent third-party master handlers from agencies across our state.
The incident was investigated by the International Police Working Dog Association (IPWDA).
The incident was reviewed by legal counsel.

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