Two detained for insulting police who bludgeoned mad dog to death

Two men were detained in Changsha, Hunan Province on Saturday for insulting two policemen and putting their private information online after the two officers triggered widespread outrage by bludgeoning a leashed dog to death.

The pair were detained for five days starting on Saturday, according to a Sina Weibo post by Changsha police on Sunday.

One of the pair surnamed Zhou posted the address and photos of one police officer’s home on Sina Weibo, while the other insulted the officer, according to the post, saying that local police are now investigating other related offenders.

The two officers had received numerous death threats since Tuesday after a video of them beating a leashed golden retriever to death in front of a shocked crowd went viral.

The surveillance video from the Changsha police shows the dog biting at least four people, including a 66-year-old man who reported the attack, thepaper.cn reported.

However, there was mounting indignation over the way the officers handled the situation.

An opinion poll by Sina Weibo on Thursday showed that 72 percent of users opposed the two officers’ behavior.

“The police should have used more humane methods to handle the incident,” commented one Weibo user.

While most people expressed indignation, some called for reasonable understanding of the incident.

Human life is more important than that of a mad, biting dog, said one Weibo user.

“It is necessary to express appeals in a reasonable and legal way, instead of crossing the legal bottom line,” warned the Changsha Police on Sina Weibo.