On April 23, 2026, a Thiensville police officer fired 16 shots at two stray dogs in Mequon, Wisconsin — killing one and leaving the other with a bullet in his hip. Body camera footage shows the dogs running away from Officer Richard C. McCormick as he kept firing. He was outside his jurisdiction and was not responding to a 911 call.

Richard C. McCormick has since resigned. But resignation is not accountability.

The Ozaukee County District Attorney's Office is currently reviewing the case. We are calling on the Ozaukee County District Attorney to file criminal animal cruelty charges against Richard C. McCormick.

A national expert on police-dog encounters told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there were "valid concerns" about the shooting — specifically that McCormick continued firing even as the dogs ran away from him. One dog, nicknamed BD, was killed. The other, Ranger, was found 17 days later — wounded, alone, and carrying a bullet in his hip — by three volunteers who pieced together what happened through public records requests. Ranger required surgery and is still recovering at the Wisconsin Humane Society Ozaukee Campus as of June 17, 2026.

McCormick is no longer a police officer, but he faces no criminal consequences. Under Wisconsin law, animal cruelty is a serious offense. A badge does not place anyone above that law. The Ozaukee County District Attorney's Office has the authority to act — and the body camera footage to support it.

Please sign this petition urging the Ozaukee County District Attorney to file criminal animal cruelty charges against Richard C. McCormick.