June 17. The Cornelius Police Dept. is “reinforcing our training procedures to ensure that all personnel respond professionally, respectfully, and with empathy in every situation.” Including those with dogs and concerned citizens.

Video screenshot of dog

A June 7 incident is under investigation after a woman reported a dog left alone in the Gold’s Gym shopping center parking lot.

She opened the door to help the dog and gave it water. WBTV identified her as Suzanne Vella. She could not be reached for comment.

According to the Cornelius Police Department, an officer responded to the parking lot at 2:18 pm regarding a dog alone in a hot car. Police posted a special message on Facebook with their account yesterday afternoon.

The officer, Cpl. Robert Russell, arrived at 2:26 pm.

Suzanne Vella. WBTV screenshot

It was the first 90-degree day of the season.

When the officer arrived, the truck door was open, and the owner had returned.

After the officer asked the dog owner if he wanted to press charges against Vella for entering his vehicle, he declined and left.

Acontentious back-and-forth between the officer and Vella followed.

Officer: “What right do you think you had to open someone’s door?”

Vella: “If there’s a dog on a 90-degree day locked in the car panting, I’m going to give it water.”

Officer: “I don’t understand what you don’t understand about this … just because you see a dog panting, doesn’t mean he’s in distress.”

Vella: “It’s 90 degrees. I think a lot of people would disagree with you too.”

The video went viral.

Quotable

“We are conducting an investigation into the owner of the dog for the claim of animal cruelty. An internal investigation into our officer’s actions is underway. We are also reinforcing our training procedures to ensure that all personnel respond professionally, respectfully, and with empathy in every situation.”

—Cornelius Police press release