ADA COUNTY, ID– An Idaho woman is under investigation for animal cruelty after a video of her punching her German Shepherd dog went viral.
The video, captured on Snapchat, showed a woman identified as London Miner wearing work out gear and boxing gloves, squared up against the dog.
The video, which can be viewed below, shows Miner punching the dog in the face approximately 10 times.
Here’s the video. Warning: This footage may be disturbing to some viewers.
At the beginning of the video, a person off-camera can be heard saying:
“We’re boxing animals. Where’s Sarah McLachlan?”
For those readers too young to remember, Sarah McLachlan’s songs were featured in many anti-animal cruelty commercials, and she is a long-time animal rights activist.
At one point, after she hit the dog, it yelped.
After that blow, Miner said:
“I hit him so hard!”
The male off-camera responded:
“I felt that!”
The Idaho Humane Society has said that it’s received many calls of complaint against Miner and has launched an investigation into the video.
The Society stated:
“This morning the individual was identified and we sent a Humane Officer to discuss the situation. The investigation is currently pending review at the local prosecutor’s office for a charging decision.”
Regarding the allegations, Miner has said:
“He plays hard. A girl gunna hit him a little bit and you guys wanna press some girl hitting him with gloves. [He] never got hurt and was playing the entire time. I’d never let my dog get hurt.
“I do what I do with my dog. He thinks it’s a game was he hurt at all in the video or at all? He’s literally laying with me in bed.”
One Instagram user made contact with her and posted a screenshot of their conversation. There, Miner said:
“He is my dog. He plays ruff and loves playing. I’m the same weight as him. U really think I’m strong enough to hurt him? No.”
View this post on Instagram
Miner’s father is an Ada County Sheriff’s Deputy, Aaron Miner, who has been with the department for over 10 years.
Deputy Miner has defended his daughter’s actions on Facebook in a comment, which read:
“Dog is good. [London] is getting threatened like you wouldn’t believe. That dog beats the crap out of our dogs and they all play much harder than that. It’s very silly. But now we are all dealing with people threatening to come to my house and “cut” [and] “f**k her up.”
Miner is looking at charges under a law addressing beating and harassing animals, which is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Social media has not been kind to Miner over the incident.
This is London Miner (Boise, ID). London is an Instagram “influencer”. She also loves punching her dog savagely. Don’t be like London. pic.twitter.com/RvEnDnR4Yd
— ArtfulTakedown (Sid) 🌈 (@ArtfulTakedown) May 4, 2020
This is the classy London Miner who works at Satin Dolls strip club in Boise, ID. It is NOT ok to punch a dog like this… 😡 https://t.co/3FTbu9jWVX
— Ryan (@chiraiderhawk) May 4, 2020
The person behind the camera is just as sick! London Miner I hope this video ruins you and lands your dog with a wonderful human who will treasure it like it deserves! I actually want to cry, I hate people sometimes. https://t.co/EP30YGvWRX
— Nettles🌿Daisy🌸Clover🍀& Barley🌾 (@OurRescues) May 5, 2020
What do you think? Toughening up the big pup or animal cruelty?
Last month Law Enforcement Today brought you another story of animal cruelty regarding a dog out of Houston. Here it is again.
A man was caught on video beating a black Labrador dog named Bear this week.
On the roof of an apartment complex, 24-year old Manuel Salvatierra was seen kicking, punching, and dragging the elderly dog.
Salvatierra was charged with cruelty and torture to non-livestock animals according to Harris County court records.
The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals obtained the videos and presented them to the Houston Police Department, who later arrested Salvatierra.
Man arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly beating senior lab on downtown Houston rooftop https://t.co/cVU533O3dB
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) April 3, 2020
The dog did not appear to provoke any of the attacks, and Salvatierra can be seen looking around before beginning the attacks to Bear.
Bear was taken to Houston SPCA’s medical center campus for medical treatment and to be housed there temporarily.
We at Law Enforcement Today don’t take kindly to those who abuse our animal friends. We reported on President Trump signing a law making animal cruelty a felony back in November of 2019.
President Donald Trump signed a bill into law today, making animal cruelty a federal felony. Yet it’s still not a federal crime to assault a police officer.
Here’s the deal. I’m a dog lover. We’ve got two of them. We’ve also got a cat that I tolerate because my kids love her. If anyone ever laid a finger on those pets, I’d break it off.
And so initially, I was encouraged to hear about the bipartisan legislation that was just passed making animal cruelty a federal felony.
Until it hit me. We’ve got congressional leaders reaching across the aisle to make animal cruelty a federal crime… but not attacks on police officers.
Let’s start with the legislation that President Trump just signed into law.
Senate lawmakers unanimously passed the bill, which was also passed on a voice vote in the house.
It was sponsored by Florida Reps. Ted Deutch and Vern Buchanan.
Deutch, a Democrat, said it:
“Sends a clear message that our society does not accept cruelty against animals.”
Buchanan, a Republican, said;
“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. worked with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, to shepherd the bill through congress and called it a major victory in efforts to halt animal cruelty and make communities safer.
It would prohibit extreme acts of cruelty when they occur in interstate commerce or on federal property, and it also cracks down on sexual abuse of animals… expanding a 2010 law that made the creation or distribution of so-called “animal crushing” videos illegal.
Right now federal law bans the sale or distribution of videos showing animals being crushed, burned or tortured, but it does not explicitly prohibit the acts themselves. The new bill would make the underlying acts of cruelty a federal crime.
The bill was backed by the National Sheriffs’ Association and Fraternal Order of Police which cited a well-documented connection between animal cruelty and violence against people.
Great. I’m totally on board with making this a federal crime. My question is simply this. Why aren’t we doing the same for attacks on law enforcement officers? Why can we get bipartisan support to treat animals better than we treat police?
The physical assaults on members of our law enforcement communities are at an all-time high.
Those intent on the extermination of officers have ushered in an unprecedented level of lawlessness, disregard for human life and moral depravity.
And for those of us looking for an end to this violent display of hatred towards the men and women the serve and protect us, it has not appeared that help was on the way.
Then Senate Bill 1480, also known as the “Back the Blue Act,” was introduced and the United Coalition of Public Safety (UCOPS) championed the effort of seeing that this legislation becomes law.
Allow me a moment to recap what we have seen over the past few years. This is not an exhaustive list; it is merely a reminder of exactly what we are dealing with.
While it shows that many assaults of our LEOs are merely spur of the moment actions to avoid arrest, it also provides evidence that numerous attacks are premeditated and carried out with malice and a malicious pre-meditated strategy.
A man drove up the east coast to New York City for the sole purpose of assassinating members of the NYPD. And he did exactly that. While two officers were sitting in their patrol vehicle, he walked to the window of the vehicle and shot both officers at point blank range before they had time to react or respond.
Another man positioned himself in a high-rise building in Dallas and started targeting cops. By the time he was eliminated, he had murdered 5 Dallas area cops from his sniper position.
A California patrol officer responding to a vehicle accident, was gunned down by a passing cyclist as she tried to speak with the accident victims.
Six officers were shot in an ambush in Baton Rouge. Three of those officers died of their injuries.
Over the past several weeks alone, we have seen many officers shot while serving a warrant. Luckily, six officers in Philadelphia survived their encounter. Sadly, as we have detailed in numerous pieces, we have lost multiple members of our LEO family as they were simply and dutifully doing their jobs.
We could fill pages recounting the events that have led to far too many funerals officers, deputies, constables and agents. We could fill even more space sharing the stories of officers attacked during the most routine traffic stops or encounters in which people decided resisting and fighting with officers was the best option for them. Officers have been injured severely, or even killed, in these types of scenarios.
Enter Senate Bill 1480 and the UCOPS efforts to see it signed into law.
What does this bill do? It allows for federal prosecution of these criminals if the state or local jurisdiction fails to prosecute or if the sentence is not commensurate with the crime upon conviction.
Who does it cover and provide protection for?
- Police officers
- Judges
- Firefighters
- Prosecutors
- Pretrial service officers
What type of violent acts are covered?
- Assault officer while performing duties
- Attacks on former LEO based on duties performed
- Attacks because the person was perceived to be a LEO
Does the bill carry details on how sentencing should be impacted for these heinous acts against or emergency responders and other members of our criminal justice system? Yes, it does.
- Assault (bodily injury): not less than 2 years, not more than 10 years
- Assault (substantial bodily injury): not less than 5 years, not more than 20 years
- Assault (serious bodily injury): not less than 10 years
- Deadly/Dangerous weapon used: not less than 20 years
- Death: minimum of 30 years, up to death penalty.
Thankfully, someone at the federal level of legislators is taken this seriously and is willing to put pen to paper and address this issue.
The bill, in its entirety, can be read here.
Here at Law Enforcement Today, we keep a very close eye on legislative measures and how they impact our community. We also love to highlight groups that champion efforts to protect our officers.
UCOPS happens to be one of those groups. So, who are they?
In their own words: In 2017, nine Law Enforcement Associations came together with a vision and a desire to impact the national discussion on law enforcement in a dynamic way. This alliance was formalized by establishing the United Coalition of Public Safety (UCOPS).
And their mission?
The United Coalition of Public Safety works on behalf of law enforcement officers and the communities they serve nationwide to shape strong partnerships and break down communication barriers; building trust through active engagement, honest dialogue, education, and outreach.
Lastly, what efforts are they deploying to see that the “Back the Blue” Act makes it to the Oval Office for the President’s Signature?
“UCOPS is launching a digital ad campaign to support U.S. Senate Bill 1480, the “Back the Blue Act,” which will allow for federal prosecution of those that target law enforcement officers for assault. We need your help to advocate for the passage of S. 1480 by getting your membership and their families engaged. By visiting www.UCOPS.org your members and their families can spend under a minute to send a targeted, pre-written email to their respective members of Congress.”
Now is the time for law enforcement to stand up and demand that we get the protections we need to do the dangerous work our members do every day!
We are providing the links to the multiple methods for you to show your support of this effort through social media and direct email.
The UCPOS digital ad and related post can be found at the link below. Please share this with your audience and tag other organizations or your House and Senate representatives. Please post with these hashtags: #YESonS1480 #BackTheBlue
The UCPOS digital ad and related post can be found at the link below. Please share this with your audience and tag other organizations or your House and Senate representatives. Please post with these hashtags: #YESonS1480 #BackTheBlue
YouTube
If you would like to distribute the ad directly, you can share it from YouTube which can be found at this link. For those seeking to embed the video onto your website, the YouTube video has the embed settings on and you can access the code from the video on our
E-mail Your Legislator
In addition to sharing the video through social media, your organization can assist in building support for S. 1480 by having your members go to this link and fill out the form to send an e-mail to their local Congressional representative and their State’s US Senators. A sample email is already written for you. It will take you no more than 1 minute to complete.
If you use Twitter, the online tool will let you tweet at your representatives as well.
We would like to say thank you to Angela and Stacey for providing the details on the UCOPS efforts to see this bill enacted and our prayer is that in doing so, it saves countless lives and puts an end to this tragic pandemic we are currently facing.
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The post Idaho woman under investigation for posting a video of herself punching her dog in the face appeared first on Law Enforcement Today.
