Police are asking for the public’s help identifying a man who they say punched and slammed a small dog against a Boyle Heights sidewalk until it died.

A witness told police that he saw a small dog jump out of a Dodge Caravan at 1:30 p.m. May 14 in the 1600 block of East First Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The driver got out of the vehicle and chased the dog until he finally caught it.

He then punched the dog and flung it onto the sidewalk until it died, police said.


See the most-read stories this hour >>

The driver returned to his vehicle and drove off, leaving the dog behind. But the witness took a photograph of the man’s vehicle.

The driver was described as a balding, gray-haired white man, between 50 and 60 years old, about 280 pounds and 6 foot 2.

He was driving a silver or gray Dodge Caravan, 1996 to 2000, with an off-color rear bumper.


Anyone with details about the driver or vehicle is urged to call Det. Alfredo Reyes at Los Angeles Police Department’s Animal Cruelty Task Force at (213) 486-0450. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (800)-222-8477.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

ALSO


Expo Line, meet the real world: A car on tracks, a broken-down train

Horse owners in the San Fernando Valley feel trod on by bullet train

In Little Saigon, Latino and Vietnamese cultures merge via restaurant workers