A family rushing their Labradoodle to an emergency veterinarian was pulled over by police. Then, they were held at gunpoint. According to KRQE Investigates, Bernalillo Police conducted a traffic stop in New Mexico that went horribly awry and may have contributed to a dog’s death.
Labradoodle hit by car
It all started in July, when Stella, a Labradoodle, chased a cat into traffic. A car speeding through the neighborhood hit the dog.
Dog mom Tara Albrecht was bringing dinner inside the house when the accident happened.
“I was like, oh my God, our dog just got hit,” Tara Albrecht said.
Tara and her husband William loaded Stella in the car. William drove and their teenage son rode in the backseat.
“We jumped in the car and started trying to get to the E.R. as fast as we could to try to save her life,” William said.
William took U.S. 550 from their home in Rio Rancho through Bernalillo toward the nearest emergency veterinary clinic. Then, he saw a police cruiser.
“I imagined if he was going to pull me over for speeding, I’d pull over,” William told KRQE. “He’d say something to me and then maybe even help us get there. You know, I’ve heard of stories like that before, but that didn’t happen.”
Police officer holds dog dad at gunpoint
Lapel footage captured the entire incident. Officer Jeramie Nevarez stepped out of the cruiser and pointed his gun at William. The cop shouted, “Driver, step out of the vehicle!”
William obeyed, but Nevarez continued yelling commands and obscenities.
“My dog’s gonna die!” William exclaimed.
At this point, Tara started recording the ordeal on her cell phone.
“I’m thinking, this is unbelievable,” she recalled. “It’s like, why didn’t someone just come check with us, find out what the reason our speeding was, and help us?”
Officer Nevarez told William to get on his knees. Soon, three other officers arrived on the scene. They all pulled their guns out and shouted “Hands up!”
An officer handcuffed William, who repeated, “My dog’s about to die! My dog’s about to die!”
The Albrechts’ teen got involved as well, insisting, “Our dog’s gonna die!” He pointed in the direction of the dog, who was bleeding from the head.
“And none of them seemed to even care at the moment at all,” William told KRQE.
As Officer Nevarez led William to his squad car, the dog dad, pleaded, “Sir, my dog’s bleeding out of its mouth.”
“I don’t give a f***!” the officer responded.
Family grieves loss of dog
Another officer on the scene convinced Nevarez to let the Albrechts go. They removed William’s handcuffs.
“That was unnecessary,” William said to the officers.
“Good luck with your dog,” Nevarez responded, then slammed the squad car door.
Sadly, Stella died shortly after the family arrived at the vet.
“It’s horrible,” Tara said. “She was such a great dog.”
