We the undersigned are outraged that a Novato Police officer, particularly one in charge of “deescalation”, can shoot and maim a neighbor’s dog (belonging to Phil and Anna Henry) who was chasing chickens owned by officer Frey of the Novato Police Dept and suffer no consequences.  The dog did in fact kill two of  the chickens which is regrettable. The Henry’s have been deeply apologetic for this unfortunate outcome. 

 While officer Frey was not on duty at the time of the shooting and was at his home in Petaluma, this off duty behavior is unacceptable from a man sworn to behave with integrity on duty or not. The Novato Police Officers sign a document upon being hired that says “ I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to me or to my agency. I will maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others.”

Shooting  a neighbor’s dog is conduct unbecoming an officer when other methods could have been used to get the dog out of the vicinity of Officer Frey’s chickens. What is even more unbecoming is the fact that the dog (named Huck) did not die right away but suffered a prolonged period of agony afterward. Officer  Frey refused to euthanize him. Huck died in his owners arms after suffering horribly. 

To make matters worse, this shooting was done with children nearby, Officer Frey’s own witnessed this atrocity.

After this incident the Frey’s put up a Halloween lawn display mocking the dog’s death. This heaps cruelty on top of atrocity.

Chief Johnson has reviewed the incident after receiving a complaint from the Henry’s and declined to take any action because of Officer Frey’s off duty status at the time of the complaint.

The Henry’s were denied a review by the Novato Police Advisory Board of the Chief’s decision because the 30 days allotted to request one had elapsed. 
The Henry’s had no idea what the timeline for appeals was because nowhere on any city website does it say that one has a right to appeal. Nothing readily accessible to the public explains the appeal process, the right to a PARB review or specify the time frame with which to do it. The Henry’s filed an appeal as soon as they learned they could do so.

For an officer in charge of Novato PD’s SWAT team and it’s deescalation “expert” to suffer no consequences for maiming a dog who was acting on instinct is unacceptable.

We demand Officer Frey be disciplined at the very least, possibly assigned to a desk job. This officer has no business carrying a firearm. He most definitely should be removed from any “deescalation” role on SWAT or any assignment as he clearly is not qualified and does not have the proper temperament.

 

watch the video here: https://youtu.be/JMXP9f7xyIQ

Officer Frey’s Halloween Yard Display