Video shows Fayetteville K-9 officer hitting dog; internal affairs investigation underway

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A video that appears to show a Fayetteville K-9 officer hitting his dog is causing outrage in the city.

It happened at the Walgreens located at the corner of Village Drive and Owen Drive. The video appears to show an unnamed Fayetteville police K-9 officer hitting his K-9 several times. It remains unclear what happened before the video started.

"It's just heartbreaking," Shirley Meskill of Fayetteville said. "You don't do that to animals. My belief is you don't do to animals or other humans what you don't want done to you."

"I mean, if he can't handle a dog, how is he expected to handle human beings? It's just unfortunate," Deloris Tolbert of Fayetteville said.

"I think it's horrible," Roy Haddock of Fayetteville said. "It should not be tolerated. It's not acceptable. It's not."

Fayetteville Police Department issued a statement saying the department knows the video is making the rounds online. The department said it takes the community's concerns seriously, and that the episode is being investigated by internal affairs.

"I mean, it's on video what he did," Meskill said. "How long is it going to take for an investigation? It always seems like it's put off, put off until it just disappears..."

ABC11 contacted the police department for further comment after they shared their statement, asking what events preceded the incident involving the officer and his K-9. ABC11 also followed up about whether the officer will be penalized for this, but the department declined to say anything further.

The officer in the video has not been identified, so ABC11 has not been able to reach them at this time.