In 2015, a mother, Tiffanie Hupp was arrested after bravely stepping in front of a police officer who was about to shoot her leashed dog. The incident was caught on film and went viral on social media. After being charged with misdemeanor obstruction, Hupp has finally been vindicated in a court of law.

The incident started when Cliff, the homeowner, phoned the police after his neighbor allegedly threatened him in midst of a heated argument.

Cliff’ dog was barking when the police officer arrived but the dog was chained and didn’t pose a threat. Nevertheless, this didn’t deter the trooper. He took out his pistol and almost shot the dog when Hupp stepped in.

The officer then grabbed Hupp by the arm, pushed and cuffed her. When the police realized that they had been filmed, they proceeded to enter into the home without warrant or probable cause to seize the video. For stepping in front of the officer and protecting her dog, Hupp was charged with misdemeanor obstruction.

City forces Hupp to use appointed defender married to state trooper

Hupp pleaded not guilty. The video demonstrated that she was clearly the victim – not the perpetrator. Nevertheless, the city fought against Hupp by making her use their public appointed defender, who was married to a state trooper.

The public defender told Hupp that she didn’t have a case because she didn’t have serious bodily injuries. Fortunately, Charleston Attorney, David Schles, took the case pro bono when he saw the video.

“I was shown the video of the incident last August and I found it unjustifiable for Tiffanie to be charged with any crime for her reasonable, non-forcible,  actions to defend Buddy the dog,” he told The Free Thought Project.

“When I was told the lawyer appointed to represent Tiffanie was married to a state trooper and did not inform Tiffanie of this  relationship, I decided I would represent Tiffanie pro bono if she wanted my services,” he added.

Although the video illustrated that Hupp didn’t commit a crime, prosecutors still pressed charges. These efforts ultimately proved futile. A jury deemed the verdict not guilty on Monday.

“For reasons I do not know, the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney refused to dismiss the charge and so  we went to trial on February 29, 2016.  After viewing the video and hearing the testimony and assessing the relative credibility of  of Trooper Cook and Tiffanie, a  Wood County jury unanimously found Tiffanie Not Guilty  after a short period of deliberation,” Schles told sources.

Hupp states she struggled to remain quiet as Trooper Cook – the police officer who assaulted her – took the stand. “When the trooper was on the stand, it was hard to keep my mouth shut…lie after lie after lie. He told them I had a crossbow in my hand, that I stepped up to him, not in between, that I raised my hands at him first,” she said.

Incident underscores need to film police officers

Fortunately, the video demonstrated that Trooper Cook’s testimony was in fact a bold faced lie. The incident underscores the need to record police officers. If Hupp’s husband hadn’t filmed the incident, an innocent woman may have been fount guilty and a guilty officer may have been found innocent.

“My personal belief is that Trooper Cook was wholly in the wrong and Tiffanie was the aggrieved party. While it is disappointing that the trooper acted as he did on the day of the incident, unfortunately, it is not surprising that a law enforcement officer failed to act competently and properly. It is surprising, and to me disturbing, that following the incident no one in the WVSP or the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed the evidence in a reasonable manner and took the proper action to have this case dismissed. Instead, taxpayer money was wasted and Tiffanie was forced to wait over nine months with a criminal charge hanging over her head for doing nothing more than standing between a chained and defenseless dog and a man pointing a gun and threatening to shoot for no justifiable reason.”

“Thankfully, if slowly, and inefficiently, the system can work and the jury made the correct decision and exonerated Tiffanie,” concluded Schles.

Sources include:

(1) TheFreeThoughtProject.com

(2) TheNewsCenter.TV