Early on the evening of May 31, the peace of an Oak Orchard, Delaware community was shattered by an ear-piercing gunshot. Herbert L. Manley, a Dover resident who supposedly was there regarding a property he was interested in purchasing, decided to walk a block from his car toward the water - a beach, by the way, that is closed to the public. He walked back and forth three times, each time passing a chocolate lab romping in the open lot next to his home. He then returned to his car, got something out of it, returned to the open lot and shot the dog named Tank in the face. He called 911 to report the shooting. Seconds later, after only briefly leaving their home and believing the gate to Tank’s yard was latched, Jim and Karen Sekcienski arrived on the horrifying scene. Tank was at the front door, and when Karen called to him, he turned to reveal the unthinkable - his head and face bloodied. Manley, still holding his weapon, admitted what he’d done to Jim, who was now toe-to-toe with the him, saying Tank tried to bite him. He gave the same specious excuse to the State Troopers who were called to the scene. It was at this point that truth and justice took a rapid descent.  He flashed a badge at the officers, saying he was retired from the force. That apparently was enough for them to excuse themselves from any further investigation or action. They called DAS (Delaware Animal Services) in to “handle” things. And after those officers took a brief report of the incident, Herbert Manley was free to get into his car, ostensibly STILL IN POSSESSION OF HIS FIREARM and leave the scene! Their report would later read “no firearm” and “dog running at large”, thoroughly misleading and incomplete. While Tank WAS outside his fence, he was on the open lot adjacent to his home, waiting for Jim and Karen to return, an area he had played in every day. The Sekcienskis rushed Tank to the nearest emergency vet hospital, a harrowing 45 minute drive, but his condition was too critical to save him. What appeared as just a small entry wound had caused massive damage inside his mouth and head… could Manley have been armed with Devastator bullets?
The neighborhood’s gentle giant was gone, leaving Jim without his emotional support, leaving Karen without “her baby”, leaving them as a scant year old pup robbed of so many years he could have shared their lives.
It would take 10 days for DAS to finally arrest Manley  - motivated by further investigation??? He was arraigned on one felony count of cruelty and once again released. A preliminary hearing by Zoom was scheduled. And in all this time, the family never received a single call from the Attorney General’s office; not from the prosecutor to corroborate the details of the case or from a victim’s advocate, as is standard procedure. They were left to mourn in the dark, unsure whether the case would even be taken seriously enough to be prosecuted as a felony, or dropped to a misdemeanor when no one was looking. They were finally contacted after publication of this petition.

It is our contention, based on eye -witness accounts of the moments leading up to the shooting, the shooting itself and an intimate knowledge of Tank’s friendly personality and total lack of aggression, that this crime was carried out for no justifiable reason other than the defendant’s willful desire to use a beloved family pet as target practice. He had several opportunities to leave the neighborhood without any threat to his person or committing this felonious act of cruelty.
Going forward, we, the undersigned, ask that no plea deal be considered in this case, that the felony charge be upheld and that prosecution would be serious, thorough and given the same merit as any incident where excessive force resulting in death is used.