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Alleged animal abuse brings Article 15

A soldier accused of animal cruelty has been reduced in rank and faces separation from the Army amid news reports that he is suspected of killing his family’s dog.

Spc. Franklyn Zimmerman, 22, of Fort Bliss, Texas, was reduced to E-1 and punished under Article 15 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, according to officials at Fort Bliss. The officials declined to provide any details but confirmed that Zimmerman was punished on an animal cruelty charge.

The officials declined to speak further because an Article 15 is nonjudicial punishment, and additional details of the case are protected by the Privacy Act.

Information released June 19 by Fort Bliss officials said Zimmerman is undergoing separation proceedings that “may result in a less than honorable discharge.” The proceedings are expected to be completed by mid-July.

An Article 15 is less severe than a court-martial and is not a trial.

Local animal rights advocates and KFOX News, a television station in El Paso, Texas, have said Zimmerman is charged with animal cruelty for allegedly stomping on the neck of his dog, a golden retriever named Tinkerbelle, and killing her and breaking the hind leg of his other dog, Wrigley.

Zimmerman remains assigned to the barracks on post while he awaits his separation from the Army, a Fort Bliss spokesman said.

Zimmerman joined the Army in November 2005 as a multiple launch rocket system crew member, according to Army records. He re-enlisted in May 2007 and was going to reclass to military police.

The case against Zimmerman is the second animal abuse case this year involving allegations against a Fort Bliss soldier.

Sgt. Dwayne Sumter is accused of leaving his dog locked in a crate when he moved from Fort Bliss to his next assignment at Fort Hood, Texas, according to KFOX News. The dog chewed her way out of the crate but died without food or water, KFOX News reported.

Sumter, 29, was brought back from Iraq, where he was deployed with his new unit from Fort Hood.

The El Paso County district attorney is handling that case, the Fort Bliss spokesman said.

The case is still pending in local court. Sumter is charged with cruelty to nonlivestock animals, a misdemeanor.

Christina Koerber, a former resident of El Paso and animal rights advocate, brought together the U.S. Humane Society and the Fort Bliss Judge Advocate General to improve prosecution of alleged animal cruelty cases.

“Hopefully they’ll work together to improve the system and implement change … as well as prevent animal cruelty … from happening again,” she said. “Hopefully good’s going to come of this.”