By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
RIVERVIEW – A Ring doorbell camera which recorded an act of animal abuse at Riverview Crossings Apartments became a viral video, which led to the arrest of the perpetrator for animal cruelty.
On the video, a white male is seen throwing a silver pit bull down a flight of stairs, from the third floor to a second-floor landing, where the dog landed on its feet. The man then is seen grabbing the dog’s leg and pushing it from the second-floor landing to the ground floor.
Riverview police officers reviewed the video and spoke to a witness, which led to the arrest of Jacob McMillan, who, per the apartment management company, does not live in the complex.
When police officers interviewed McMillan, they learned that the dog was now with a member of his family who lives in a separate resident, and that the dog was not injured by the abuse seen on the video.
McMillan admitted responsibility for the incident, and said it “never should have happened,” while expressing his remorse and embarrassment.
He said the dog had run out of the apartment prior to the incident captured on the surveillance camera.
On Nov. 19, McMillan was charged with animal neglect/cruelty, a 93-day misdemeanor, for which he turned himself in on Nov. 25, at the Riverview police station, where he was arraigned by video before Judge Elizabeth DiSanto of the 27th District Court in Wyandotte.
McMillan’s next appearance court is at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 2 in Wyandotte.
Downriver Central Animal Control will receive the subsequent report to allow it to follow up on the dog’s welfare.