TAMPA, Fla. — A deputy with the Pasco Sheriff's Office has been fired after he was accused of abusing a cat that later died from its injuries, police say.
Eric Harris was involved in an argument with his girlfriend on Aug. 21, who he recently moved into a Tampa apartment with, about her two cats defecating on the floor outside of their litter box and jumping on the furniture and counters, Tampa Police Department said in a news release.
On Aug. 22, Harris' girlfriend returned to the apartment around 7 p.m. when she found both of her cats hiding in their crate, authorities say. She reportedly noticed that one of the cat's toenails on its rear paws was broken and bloody and the cat could not stand using its rear legs.
She then took the cat to Harris' veterinarian in Sarasota immediately, TPD says.
The veterinarian examined the cat's injuries and told the ex-girlfriend to take it to an animal hospital for urgent care, but the cat died from its injuries the same day, police say.
Law enforcement says the veterinarian called the police to investigate the cat's injuries.
When detectives questioned Harris, they say that he claimed the cat was fine during the time that he was alone with them in the apartment.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says they conducted a necropsy on Aug. 26 and discovered that the cat suffered from severe hemorrhaging and bruising to internal organs, facial injuries, including a missing tooth, and the cat also had markings on its body indicating that the cat was stomped. The cat's death was ruled as blunt force trauma.
The Tampa Police Department arrested Harris at his home. He is charged with felony animal cruelty, police say.
