A disturbing video posted online appears to show a U.S. marshal kicking a small dog and, according to the owner, breaking one of its ribs while performing an arrest outside of a Memphis apartment complex on Wednesday.
The video shows a uniformed marshal, apparently with his gun drawn, walking up to the miniature schnauzer barking in his direction and punting it.
“This is not law enforcement. This is animal cruelty,” Emma Hollingsworth, the dog’s owner, said in a video posted to Facebook on Thursday. “They literally kicked him for no reason.”
Hollingsworth said the officers were the ones who let her dog out of her home while carrying out an arrest warrant for her boyfriend — who was complying with the marshals’ orders to exit when they broke down the front door, she said.
Video shows the small dog running around and barking at the officers, as well as an officer restraining a much larger dog, revealed to be a police K9. A battering ram can be seen on the ground near the door.
