A group of people have been filmed beating up a man who says he saw a small dog being abused while on a leash in Hollywood.
Some passers-by got out of their cars to help.
“I stopped and started chasing him,” witness Jena Malone said. “Because it’s absolutely not OK.”
Another witness said the man dragged and kicked him Monday near Sunset Boulevard and the 101 freeway.
He said the man started running and a group chased him.
Speaking to the NBCLA cameraman just before police arrived, the man, whom police have not identified, said he did not believe the dog had been harmed.
“That’s why I made him, he’s my mother’s dog and he has to obey me,” the man said.
LA criminal attorney Andrew Leventhal reviewed the footage and said the altercation leading to the dog’s rescue was likely just. But continuing to beat the suspect once the dog is safe could raise legal issues.
“I mean, it looks like the dog was already in care at the time. So technically, could the prosecution press charges against the men who beat the animal abuser? Yes, technically, they could,” he said.
The LAPD has not filed charges against the group that attacked the man.
The man who allegedly beat the dog was however arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty.
The dog was taken by animal control. The owner contacted NBC4 on Tuesday night, saying his son had taken the dog, Champion, and was going to be fine and suffered a broken leg.
