< Back to front page Text size – +

MBTA K-9 officer charged with animal cruelty

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 8, 2009 04:22 PM

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A K-9 officer for the MBTA Transit Police Department faced an animal cruelty charge today for allegedly starving his pet dog to death at his home in Rochester.

The officer, Antonio Carneiro, was arraigned today in Wareham District Court on the felony charge. Transit police removed Carneiro from the K-9 team and suspended him from the force when officials learned on June 24 of the allegations, the MBTA said in a statement.

The dog, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Nitro, weighed just 25 pounds when Rochester police found it dead in an outdoor cage on Jan. 19. The German Shepherd-like dog should have weighed 60 to 65 pounds. The animal's ribs and hip bones nearly popped out of its skin, its face was drawn, and it had plants in its digestive tract, evidence that the dog "was trying to eat anything to survive," said patrolman Chris Charbonneau of the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

"Based on the autopsy, this was a long-term case of starvation," said Charbonneau, who investigated the criminal complaint. "Probably over a period of months."

Carneiro, who could not be reached today for comment, is due back in court on Aug. 17. Carneiro claimed in an hearing last month that the dog suffered from separation anxiety and refused to eat, Charbonneau said, but that defense did not make sense, especially given the plants in its digestive system.

He has been with the Transit Police Department for 13 years and had served in the K-9 Unit for the last two years. His police dog was returned to the department and found to be in good health after a veterinary examination, according to the MBTA.

"I am outraged and disgusted that anyone, let alone an officer who we entrusted with the care of one of our dogs, might have committed this egregious act," said Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan in a statement. "We will continue to cooperate fully with the Animal Rescue League and the District Attorney concerning this matter."

On The Beat

Reporter John R. Ellement is in Somerville District Court, where two former youth soccer coaches are accused of raping one of their 13-year-old players.