PARMA, Ohio — PARMA, Ohio – An Ohio man is facing charges after doing what he thought was a good deed.
Richard Hill was leaving Walmart last weekend when he noticed people standing around a car concerned for two dogs inside. One of them was a puppy.
Hill said one bystander called 911 while another went into Walmart to ask the vehicle owner to come outside.
Hill, an avid dog lover, truly believed the dogs were in danger.
"I did not know how long it was going to take for them to get there," said Hill. "And I really felt that ... I needed to see if that puppy was OK."
Hill, a contractor, took a hammer from his van and broke the window to rescue the dogs.
Moments later, police arrived.
"The officer told me that I should have waited. That I had no right to break that window," Hill said.
But Hill didn't know the dogs had only been left in the car for eight minutes, according to surveillance video.
Officers cited Hill with criminal damage, a misdemeanor.
"This situation right here, is what deters people from actually stepping up and doing the right thing," Hill said.
It was about 78 degrees outside at the time.
“We believe his heart may have been in the right place, but he should have waited a little more,” Ciryak told Cleveland.com. “He knew the police were coming. I don’t know what his sense of urgency was.”
Ohio law says a person is immune from civil liability if:
- The vehicle is locked and there's no way for the animal to exit;
- They believe forcible entry is necessary because the animal is in imminent danger;
- They've already contacted emergency services;
- They stay with the animal in a safe location;
- They used no more force than necessary.
An Ohio law gives immunity to anyone who breaks a window to rescue an animal or child.
