MIAMI, July 27 (UPI) -- A jury will hear the case of a former Florida police officer charged with animal cruelty for allegedly fatally kicking his police dog, authorities said.
Former Miami-Dade officer Allen Cockfield, 55, has pleaded not guilty to the cruelty charge and a charge of killing a police dog, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.
Cockfield was arrested in May 2007 almost a year after his 4-year-old German shepherd Duke collapsed during a training exercise.
Investigators said the dog died after Cockfield allegedly delivered a lethally timed heart-disrupting kick at the police department training facility.
Other officers told an internal affairs investigation Cockfield kicked the dog three to six times, the Herald reported.
A jury was selected Monday for the trial, set to open Tuesday.
