A DeLand man was arrested Saturday after police said surveillance video showed him grabbing his dog by the collar, swinging the animal through the air before throwing it to the ground.
Christopher Arthur Whitley, 45, was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. Investigators also charged him with violating a protection order after reviewing the same video during an unrelated investigation, according to the DeLand Police Department.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers responded to a home in the 800 block of South Hill Avenue around 6:49 p.m. Saturday for a civil complaint involving an alleged protection order violation. While speaking with a neighbor, officers learned she believed Whitley had also been abusing his dog.
Police said the neighbor was reviewing surveillance footage related to the protection order complaint when she found video recorded earlier that day, at approximately 1 p.m.
According to the affidavit, the video showed the dog sitting on a golf cart before getting off while Whitley worked nearby. Police said Whitley then grabbed the dog by the collar or neck, picked it up, swung it and threw it to the ground.
The dog was seen landing and rolling before Whitley walked over, grabbed it by the collar again and carried it into the house, according to the affidavit.
Officers said the dog did not appear to have any visible injuries when they arrived. Because no one at the scene was able to take custody of the animal, the dog was transported to the DeLand Police Department’s kennels, according to police.
Whitley was arrested Saturday evening and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on a $5,000 bond. He faces one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty, according to court records.
The alleged protection order violation is being handled under a separate case, according to the affidavit.
