Man Accused Of Slamming Squad Car Door On Naperville Police Dog's Nose
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- A four-legged member of the Naperville Police Department's K-9 unit has recovered after a strange encounter with a man in the western suburb's downtown area.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, a male German shepherd police dog named Sabek was hurt when around 1:45 a.m. Sunday, a man allegedly taunted the dog and slammed the door of a squad car on his snout.
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The man, Douglas Carncross, 26, of Plainfield, is charged with teasing, striking or tampering with a police or service animal, resisting or obstructing a police officer and criminal trespass to a vehicle, according to court records. He is free on bond awaiting trial.
Officers and the dog had been sent to provide backup for other officers investigating a disturbance in a bar on West Jefferson Avenue near Washington Street.
The K-9 unit officer then began walking back to his vehicle, which is marked with the word "Caution" because of Sabek's presence in the back seat, Westlove said. The officer allegedly found Carncross badgering the dog through a window that had been left partially open, in order to provide Sabek with fresh air.
"He was taunting the dog by sticking his face close to the window" and yelling and making faces at him, Westlove said. Sabek responded by barking, snarling and lunging at Carncross with such force that the car began to shake.
Carncross then allegedly tried to open the squad's unlocked rear door. Sabek "starts to come out of the car, and (Carncross) sees this and slams the door on the dog's face," Westlove said.
Sabek began "bleeding from his gums above his teeth" but was not seriously injured, Westlove said. He added Sabek's handler "provided some first aid" before he and another officer chased Carncross a short distance and arrested him.
Carncross did not appear to have been under the influence of alcohol or narcotics at the time, Westlove said.
Court records indicated Carncross has been arrested several times on alcohol-related charges. Naperville police in February 2006 arrested him on misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and criminal trespass to land, charges that were dismissed later that year.
Downers Grove police in May 2006 arrested Carncross for driving under the influence of alcohol, transportation or possession of open alcohol and speeding. A judge in 2007 ordered him to perform community service work and fined him in that case.
The Naperville Sun contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.
