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Photo: Animal Rescuers Find Cat Cruelly Kicked By Brooklyn Man
By
Jen Chung
Published May 7, 2014
Modified May 7, 2014
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via Sean Casey Animal Rescue
By
Jen Chung
Published May 7, 2014
Modified May 7, 2014
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After video of a Brooklyn man kicking a cat up into the air was posted on Facebook, animal lovers rushed into action. They helped identify a phone number seen on scaffolding—leading the police to find the suspect, Andre Robinson, who was arrested on Monday—and yesterday, they FOUND THE CAT!
Sean Casey Animal Rescue posted this message on their Facebook page yesterday afternoon:
We have some Breaking News to share with you. We are sure you all have seen the very disturbing video of Mr Andre Robinson kicking a friendly stray cat in Brooklyn. The video was very heartbreaking for us to see and we have been working diligently with the NYPD since the video surfaced.
We are happy to announce that just within the past hour, with the joint efforts of Sean Casey Animal Rescue, North Shore Animal League, The Mayors Alliance and the New York City Police Department the cat that was senselessly kicked has been found and caught. The cat is currently being transported to the ASPCA in Manhattan for emergency veterinary care. We will update everyone once we find out more about its condition. Please keep the poor cat in your thoughts during this hard time.
North Shore Animal League added that the cat was named "King." The Daily News reports that it took 16 rescuers and many hours to find the cat, who had managed to hide inside a Ford Explorer.
Robinson, 21, was released without bail after being charged with aggravated animal cruelty. The News had details of his court appearance:
Prosecutor Betsy Grobovsky asked that Robinson be held on $5,000 bond.
"The defendant coaxed a cat, a gray and white neighborhood cat," she said. "The defendant kicked the cat, causing the cat to fly approximately eight to 10 feet up in the air." Robinson then "faced the camera and maniacally laughed," she added. A veterinarian told police that "such a kick will result in serious injury," she said.
Defense lawyer William Hair said Robinson has "a good job" that he's held for about two years. Hair also admitted he had not seen the sick footage, but nevertheless insisted it's "unclear who is in the video."
The video looks pretty clear here:
Post by On The Real.
A neighbor said of Robinson, "I recognized him as soon as I saw him on that video. And when I saw the kid field goal him, I couldn’t believe it. I just can’t understand why someone would do that. The cat never did anything wrong, that’s sick to do that to a cat, to any animal."
Robinson's mother picked him up from court. She had defended him earlier by saying, "He had to be high on something. It’s very out of his character. He had to be high to do what he did. This isn’t him... He loves animals. He loved his cats, he had dogs, he always loved them." Yesterday, she said that cat was "fine."
The ASPCA's Rebecca Goldrick told us, "The cat, a male, was brought by the NYPD to the ASPCA Animal Hospital on May 6th, and is currently being assessed. As this is an open NYPD investigation, we are unable to share any additional details at this time."
Tagged
andre robinson
animal abuse
animal cruelty
brooklyn
cat
King the cat
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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