(UPDATE) The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office says on Monday, December 23, it received a call from a man who said he was the person seen in a video widely viewed by the community that reportedly showed him beating a dog.
According to the Sheriff's Office, a deputy went to the man's residence and spoke with him. The Sheriff's Office said the dog was observed to be healthy, and a check into the animal's veterinary records revealed no prior signs of abuse.
The man was cited for cruelty to animals.
No further details were released, and the man's name has not been released.
We will update you if we get more information.
(1st REPORT) A home north of Bozeman captured disturbing video on a Ring doorbell camera of a man beating a dog; as the community has been taken by storm, the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) is now investigating.
In a video taken on the night of Friday, December 20, 2024, a man appears to be beating a dog.
"We don't see this often; this one was an anomaly. To have it caught on camera was something that was known to us as well," says GCSO Captain Clint Harper.
The incident was reported Friday night on East Baseline Road and Walker Road, north of Bozeman. At around 10 a.m. on Saturday, the video was posted to Facebook.
With thousands of views, community members are looking for any information to help identify the man who appears to be beating a dog.
Captain Harper says they received many calls as the video circulated.
"Many of us saw it on social media prior and then tried to figure out where exactly this happened, what happened. Try to get as much information as possible," Harper says.
While the sheriff's office began to investigate, so did community members.
A GoFundMe has raised $2,600 as of Monday. A reward of $1500 is offered to anyone who can identify the man in the video.
Harper says gathering information with grainy footage is difficult.
"You get a Ring doorbell camera; it's pretty good quality, but you can't see a license plate. There are minimal things you can see in the video, so it's difficult to follow up on those types of things when all you have is a 15-second video," he says.
While the clip is hard to watch, Captain Harper says, "We do have a person of interest that we will be speaking to shortly. I can't say much more about it because it's ongoing, but we have a person of interest."
And for an incident of this nature?
"What we are looking at is a cruelty to animals investigation."
Captain Harper says animal abuse investigations in the Gallatin Valley are few and far between.
"It is great for us to see that the community trusts us and is willing to reach out to give us information. We've had plenty of tips," Captain Harper says.
To visit the GoFundMe campaign started to raise reward money, click here.
