A police K-9 trainer violently kicked the jury box in a Miami-Dade courtroom Tuesday, not to wake up the jurors, but to show just how hard a police dog was kicked just moments before he died.
The treatment of Duke the K-9 is at the center of the animal cruelty trial of former Miami-Dade cop Allen D. Cockfield, who is accused of delivering the deadly kicks to the dog over four years ago.
Cockfield, 55, is facing six years behind bars if convicted for killing his four-legged partner of six months.
Duke allegedly was unruly during a training session in June 2006, when Cockfield lifted the German Shepherd off the ground by its choke collar and then delivered "approximately five to six kicks" to the animal's ribs, testified a training officer present during the incident.
That's when the officer gave a graphic description of what Duke might have endured. The officer reared back and delivered four hard kicks that echoed through the courtroom and jolted the jury, who jumped in shock.
The trainer also testified Cockfield, a 25-year veteran of the force, watched as Duke lay on the ground gasping for air and weezing after the brutal punishment.
Cockfield was only trying to use corrective procedures on Duke, who was barking loudly during a training exercise designe dto teach dogs not to respond to outside distractions, defense attorneys told the jury.
