A Greater Manchester Police firearms officer who was sentenced for animal cruelty after punching a puppy is not suspended but will now be subject to an internal investigation it has been confirmed.
Sergeant Martin Dunn punched the five-month-old spring spaniel called Frank several times in his garden after it pooed on his lounge carpet leading him to ‘see red’ a court heard.
Harrowing footage of him the attack was played in court, in which he could be heard to scream ‘you little bastard’ at the pup before reigning down a number of blows, leaving the dog yelping in pain.
Sgt Dunn, from West Yorkshire, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and banned from keeping animals for five years by a District Judge at Leeds Magistrates Court on Friday (April 23).
Following the announcement in March that he had been charged, GMP said that Sgt Dunn was on restricted duties.
Today (Saturday) they confirmed that that remains the case and that he had not been suspended.
However, they said an investigation would now be carried out by the force’s internal standards watchdog.
A spokesman said: “Following the sentencing today there will now be an investigation by the Professional Standards Branch.
“Police Sergeant Dunn is currently on restricted duties. (He is not suspended).”
The court was told that Sgt Dunn’s usual role, which he earns £44,000 a year, sees him patrolling Manchester Airport and it “requires that at all times he is under control of his actions” his barrister said.
A probation officer told the court Sgt Dunn had been involved in the events at Manchester Arena in 2017 and has been suffering from PTSD “but without realising it.”
“In this case there are a number of stress factors that came together on that evening that caused him to behave as he did” Sarah Barlow, defending said.
“He hung his [extra large] head in shame when he saw the video. It was a complete one-off.
“As a firearms officer he has a great responsibility. In short he can’t believe that he behaved as he did.
“No excuses are made for it. This is the only occasion when he has behaved in any way like this.
“The effects of witnessing what he did at Manchester Arena affected him very deeply. So often police officers don’t avail themselves of counselling fearing it will affect how they are viewed.”
Dunn, of Albion Gardens, Meltham, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty at an earlier hearing.
As well as being made subject to a 12-month community order, which includes the unpaid work, he was told to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £95 within 28 days.
It was unclear precisely what would happen to the dog as the court heard its ownership is disputed.
Be the first to comment