Officers responded to a malnourished horses case at 2600 Broadway SE on 06/13/2012 at 1:04 am. The three officers who initially responded were Jeremy Dear, Sonny Molina and Bruce Deherrera. They responded to a call involving an armed subject who kicked in a door and was found sleeping in the residence, he walked out of the residence when confronted by the homeowner and then was seen still armed in the back of the property.
When these three officers arrived they called, K9 Sgt. Eric Brown and K9 Officer Kenneth Ronzone to the scene to assist in the search of the premises. The search was completed and during that search, the officers discovered there were severely malnourished, emaciated, dehydrated and starving horses on the property with no food or water in their stalls. The temperatures had been in the 90s in the previous few days in the ABQ area.
The officers made the necessary phone calls to Livestock Inspectors, but knew it would be several hours until they could respond.
Officers Molina, DeHerrera and Dear could not find it in their hearts or good conscience to leave these poor animals without any food or water, even for a matter of hours. They located some bales of hay on the property and fed the horses. They also supplied each of the six horses with water in their stalls. The horses expressed immediate gratification and eagerly ate and drank.
Officers Sonny Molina and Jeremy Dear met with Livestock Inspectors at the end of their shift and stayed on scene approximately 5 hours after their graveyard shift ended in order to make sure that the animals received the necessary care and protection. The horse owner was eventually tracked down and agreed to surrender all the horses to the Livestock Inspectors. The horses were taken to see veterinarians at a rescue ranch who advised that the horses were extremely malnourished and some were experiencing serious medical issues and life-threatening conditions due to the mistreatment and long-term malnourishment.
These Officers went above and beyond their call of duty and expertise to save these helpless and innocent animals. They displayed exemplary kindness and humanity in their actions.
Officer Tasia Martinez
APD Public Information Officer
