The 11-year veteran of the force is accused of leaving his emaciated dog in the bag in a park.
PHILADELPHIA -- Police here had the rare experience of arresting a fellow officer this week, as Officer Michael Long was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly dumping his emaciated dog in a trash bag.
The Philadelphia Police Department said Friday that it has suspended Long for 30 days with the intent to fire him at the end of that period. The 11-year veteran of the force turned himself into the department's Internal Affairs Unit Thursday.
Last November, the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals put out a plea to the public asking for help identifying the person who dumped the dog, later named Cranberry, in Wissahickon Valley Park.
A woman contacted the SPCA Nov. 23 after seeing the dog's head sticking out a trash bag in the park, according to the organization. Its law enforcement division investigated, eventually collaborating with the Philadelphia Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit on the case.
Officials told 6abc that the dog was microchipped, which led them to discover that Long was the dog's owner.
Staff at the SPCA were not sure if Cranberry was going to survive, but she grew stronger under their care and was adopted into her "forever home" in December, the SPCA said in a release this week.
"This arrest today is the culmination of an investigation conducted by our officers and the Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs Unit," Nicole Wilson, director of the organization's law enforcement, said Thursday. "We look forward to the opportunity to see justice through the courts in this matter."
Long, 33, of the 8200 block of Michener Avenue, was charged with two misdemeanors for animal cruelty, one misdemeanor for possession of an instrument of a crime, and one summary charge of animal cruelty, the SPCA said.
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