A man has been arrested after an incident at Dulles International Airport, in Virginia, after he allegedly kicked a K9 police dog so hard it was “lifted off the ground” and into the air.
Hamed Aly Marie, an international traveler, “maliciously” assaulted the animal, whose name was Freddy, near a baggage claim area on Tuesday.
According to a federal air marshal affidavit, obtained by The Independent, the incident occurred just after 6.30 a.m. Freddy and his handler were conducting “normal roving patrols of the baggage claim area” where luggage from an Egypt Air flight was waiting to be claimed.
Freddy is an Agricultural K9 Beagle trained to find illicit agricultural contraband that is being brought into the United States, and was in uniform at the time of the incident.
According to the affidavit, the passenger who owned the luggage, and was later identified as Marie by his passport and visa approached Freddy and his handler and began to speak with them
“Shortly after the conversation began, Marie kicked K9 Freddy,” the document stated. “K9 Freddy was kicked so hard that he was lifted off of the ground. K9 Freddy was injured and was taken to the veterinary emergency room.”
Marie was arrested Wednesday and has been charged in a U.S. District Court in Virginia with wilfully and maliciously harming a police animal.
The charging document does not specify Marie’s country of origin, but it is understood that an interpreter has been secured for him.
