A Syracuse man has been arrested after seriously injuring a dog in an incident that later resulted in the animal’s death.

Thomas Hemmingway was arrested by Syracuse Police after he injured a dog on the sidewalk with a large knife on the 900 block of South Geddes Street, resulting in the death of the dog.

According to the Syracuse Police Department, officers responded to South Geddes Street for an injured animal complaint.

Once officers arrived, they found a black and white female pitbull that had suffered one serious injury to her neck. Officers brought the dog to the back of their patrol vehicle and transported her to Veterinary Medical Center of CNY for medical attention, where the dog later died from her injuries.

As the dog was being taken to the vet, other officers remained on the scene speaking to witnesses and attempting to find the owner of the dog.

While officers were on scene, Thomas Hemmingway approached the officers and told them he had to injure the dog in self defense after he claimed the dog had bitten him on his right leg.

Hemmingway pulled up his pant leg to show the officers where the dog “bit” him, but there were no visible injuries.

Syracuse Police then turned over the case to the Animal Cruelty Division for further investigation, which found through video evidence that Hemmingway was not attacked by the dog.

The video evidence later showed Hemmingway walking west down Delaware Street towards the location where an unknown man had the dog on a leash.

Hemmingway had what appeared to be a large knife in his right hand and was the first to approach the dog and attempt to grab it by the neck or collar, causing the dog to react.

Hemmingway then injured the dog once in the neck, and the unknown man released the dog as it moved away from Hemmingway. However, Hemmingway continued to approach the dog and raised the knife above his head while yelling, before eventually calming down and walking away.

After being injured, the dog wandered into a corner store until Police arrived.

After reviewing the evidence provided, the Animal Cruelty Division determined that Hemmingway did not injure the dog in self defense.

Hemmingway was arrested for Aggravated Animal Cruelty, an unclassified felony, and lodged in the Onondaga County Justice Center.