Animal cruelty arrest warranted

Dear animal advocates,

Please speak up for our animals and report animal cruelty. Here is a very important Florida state statute that is all to often being overlooked.

Florida Statute 828.17 — Officer to arrest without warrant. Any sheriff or any other peace officer of the state, or any police officer of any city or town of the state, shall arrest without warrant any person found violating any of the provisions of SS. 828.08, 828.12, and 828.13-828.16, and the officer making the arrest shall hold the offender until a warrant can be procured, and he or she shall use proper diligence to procure such warrant.

When and if you report animal cruelty, present a copy of this statute to the investigating sheriff or any other peace officer. This is a statutory command and discretion is not an option.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Animal cruelty arrest warranted."