Back on March 27, a black cat wandered onto a broad green field at the Sheriff’s Pistol Range in Kern County. Two deputies, laden in olive-drab tactical gear, spotted the cat, stalked it and shot it. Along with a third deputy who, according to a witness, didn’t draw his gun, the group looked on as the cat writhed in pain and died.
Now, they’re back on the job, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Sunday. “This case is completed,” he told KGET television news. “The allegations were sustained. The officers have been appropriately disciplined.”
Whatever punitive measures were taken, the sheriff would not say. “That’s as much as I can tell you without violating the peace officer’s bill of rights ,” he said.
The deputies were never charged under California Penal Code Section 597, which calls for a prison term of up to three years for “maliciously and intentionally killing an animal.”