Another Video Rahm Emanuel Never Wanted You to See

Some of you may remember in spring of last year when it was reported that a Chicago ACC employee strangled a dog to death with a chokepole.  The city refused to release the internal video of the killing and the press had to sue to get it.  Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration fought against the video’s release, as it did in the case of the killing of a human being by a police officer, but was eventually forced to let the public see the truth.  And it’s as awful as you’d imagine:

The video (with no audio) shows the dog thrashing, then going quiet, lying motionless on the ground after one or more of the poles apparently cut off the animal’s airflow. A few seconds later, the video shows the dying animal being dragged down the hall by the neck.

Note:  poleS.  Pound employees strung the dog, named Spike, up in two chokepoles.  Other people stood watching while the dog was being tortured.  And if this isn’t vomity enough for you:

City records obtained by the [Better Government Association] under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act indicate the two ACC workers “struggled with the dog until the dog eventually collapsed,” and a supervisor “came into the unloading area and informed the Officers to ‘Let him breathe.’”

While one of the ACC workers indicated “his pole was loose,” the other employee “proceeded to drag the dog by his neck down the hallway and into the Euthanasia Room then proceeded to use the control pole to lift the dog by the neck into the cage,” the city records show.
[…]

After the choking incident, “a veterinarian examined the dog and confirmed he was alive,” the spokesman said. “However, the dog died within 30 minutes prior to the scheduled euthanasia.”

So they strangled Spike until he fell out, then dragged him by a metal noose around his neck, then hanged him in the noose to get him into a cage, had some sort of VET verify the dog still had a pulse, then left him to suffer until he died. But don’t worry, the workers who tortured the dog and those who watched but did nothing to save him – well actually, go ahead and worry:

Three employees were suspended without pay. The longest suspension was 20 days.

Gee.  Sounds serious.  Apparently the city of Chicago has a tiered justice system, with city employees sitting at the top, spitballing everyone below.  Prepare to be spat upon:

Today Chicago Animal Care and Control’s acting director, Ivan Capifali, says in a written statement:
[…]
“Following a review of the episode that occurred in March of 2014, CACC quickly disciplined three employees and provided special training on animal handling to CACC employees. In fact, a video on animal handling that was created by CACC in partnership with the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) is not only shown to all new CACC staff, it is now used by NACA in training nationwide.”

Chicago, that shining city upon a hill, excels so damn hard at killing then trying to suppress the evidence, it must be held up as an example for the entire country. You know your city is good when protesters stand outside the mayor’s house, demanding he resign.

I’m sorry the people paid to protect you from harm tortured you to death, Spike.  I’m sorry too that everyone involved is still uh, protecting animals from harm at the Chicago pound.

The city is reportedly looking for a new director to run the pound.  I can’t imagine any compassionate person would be willing to work with animal abusers and enablers.  But I guess compassion is not a job requirement in Chicago.

(Thank you to everyone who sent me this story.)