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Fire Chief Investigated Over Puppy Beating

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Nov 8, 2008 9:13 am US/Pacific

Fire Chief Investigated Over Puppy Beating

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― A puppy had to be euthanized after she was beat by a Los Angeles County assistant fire chief who told investigators that he was acting out of self-defense.

"We have always felt like it could get to this level and it did, " said Jeff Toole, the dog's owner.

According to witnesses and the police report, Karley, the Toole family's 6-month-old German Shepherd puppy, wandered out of her yard Monday. A neighbor, Travis Briggs, found Karley and was walking her back home. That's when another neighbor, assistant fire chief Glynn Johnson stepped in.

Johnson told investigators that he tried to take the dog back home and Karly bit him.

Briggs said Johnson then hit the dog with a rock.

"He hit the dog in the face with a closed fist two times. He got on top of the dog and started beating her," Briggs said.

"At that time I ran down my driveway, ran up his, tried to pull him off and his hands were in the dog's mouth. He was trying to pull the dog's jaws apart, breaking the dog's jaws."

Briggs said that's when the dog managed to get away.

But by that time the puppy suffered injuries so severe that she had to be euthanized.

The family said Karly's skull and ear canal were crushed and her jaw was broken.

"There's no explanation to me," said Shelley Toole, the dog's owner. "He intentionally, for one, went over to (our neighbor) Travis, who already had the puppy and was bringing her home, and took her. He, to me, had no intention of ever returning her. He intended to do her harm."

Johnson told investigators that Karly had bitten him and that he was acting out of self-defense. He was treated for an injured wrist and thumb.

"She never ever would hurt anybody and she never hurt him," Shelley Toole said.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman says Glynn Johnson has been placed on paid administrative leave Friday while the L.A. County Fire Department and Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigate Monday's incident.

If they determine a crime was committed, Johnson would be charged with a felony.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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