The Baltimore cop who was found not guilty last year for slitting a dog’s throat after it had bitten a woman will receive $45,000 in back pay for the ten months he spent on unpaid suspension.
Jeffrey Bolger, 50, who is now retired, slit Nala’s throat in June 2014 after the Shar-Pei had escaped from a backyard and bit a woman on the hand.
The woman, who was left with a superficial wound, called police to have the dog captured.
Bolger and his partner, Thomas Schmidt, responded and tried to capture Nala with a dog-control pole, but they ended up strangling the dog.
Witnesses said Schmidt held the dog down while Bolger slit its throat.
“I’m going to gut this fucking thing,” Bolger was heard saying.
Even Baltimore police commanders said the incident was “outrageous and unacceptable.”
Both were initially charged with animal cruelty, but charges against Schmidt were dismissed and Bolger was forced to go to trial last year.
However, a judge found him not guilty, agreeing that he was “acting in the interest of safety” of the community.
And now, because he was suspended from June 2014 to March 2015 before he was forced to retire, Bolger will receive $45,000, according to the Baltimore Sun.
