Update, 4:30 p.m.:

The suspect in the case, George McKenzie, denied the charges in Springfield District Court Tuesday afternoon. Judge William Hadley ordered him held on $1,000 personal surety. A

story about the arraignment

has been posted.

SPRINGFIELD – A city man was charged with animal cruelty after he allegedly hit a hawk and stomped on the bird in front of police officers in the city's Metro Center neighborhood Tuesday morning.

Springfield Police Lt. Rupert Daniel, reached at about 8:30 this morning, said a suspect was being booked in connection with the incident, which was reported just after 7 a.m. Police later identified the suspect as 64-year-old George McKenzie, of 71 Florida St., who's expected to be arraigned today in Springfield District Court on the felony charge punishable by up to five years in state prison.

Detectives Robert Bohl and Mike Goggin, of the Springfield Police Department Warrant Apprehension Unit, were driving on Pearl Street near the corner of Federal Street when they noticed a hawk on the sidewalk feeding on a pigeon it had just hunted, said Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

Delaney said the detectives slowed down to snap some photos when McKenzie walked up to the hawk and threw a log at the bird, striking and injuring the animal. "The strike caused the bird to become momentarily disoriented," Delaney said.

Before the stunned officers could react, McKenzie used a thick candle stick holder that he was carrying to strike the bird again, then proceeded to stomp on the animal with his shoes, Delaney said. The officers raced from their unmarked cruiser and arrested McKenzie on the spot.

Springfield police, state troopers and state environmental police attempted to capture the bird so wildlife officials could examine it for injuries. Fitchet was among those who responded to the scene, supplying officers with a blanket to help catch the injured bird, which eventually flew away.

All hawks are protected under federal law, said Neil E. Mendelsohn, Acting Special Agent in Charge for law enforcement at the offices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hadley. An assault on a hawk would be a misdemeanor violation under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, punishable by 6 months in prison or a $10,000 fine.

Mendelsohn said the Springfield incident had not been reported to his office, which shares the responsibility of enforcing the migratory bird act with the state.

"Usually with animal cruelty cases like this, the state's penalties are higher than what we could get by charging and prosecuting under federal law," Mendelsohn said.

Under state law, animal cruelty carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in state prison or 2 1/2 years in a house of correction. A $2,500 fine may be levied in addition to or in place of imprisonment.

A Sunderland trout hatchery owner was convicted and his son pleaded guilty in 2007 to charges that they violated the migratory bird act for shooting a number of herons and birds of prey -- including hawks, ospreys and eagles -- on the hatchery property.

The species of hawk in the Springfield case was not immediately clear. Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Kevin Maunsell, who responded to the call, said the bird appeared to be either a Northern Goshawk or a Cooper's Hawk. The latter raptor is listed as a "species of special concern" and is found in parts of the Connecticut River Valley, according to MassAudubon.

Immature birds from both species exhibit similar field markings to the young of the more common Red-tailed Hawk.

Republican Assistant Online Editor Greg Saulmon contributed to this report.