Man jailed after pulling police dog's tail

A 60-year-old homeless man was arrested after he reportedly pulled the tail of a K9 officer on Sunday afternoon. Police and paramedics were called to a wooded area in Ocala, Florida, to a report of a man suffering an apparent heart attack.

The man was one of the several living in a transient camp in the woods, according to Ocala Police Department reports. During the incident, Daniel Claude Rosselle walked up to the police dog, Kilo, and said, “puppy, puppy, puppy,” and tried to pet the animal. Kilo's handler told Rosselle the dog was working and could not be petted.



A short time later, Rosselle reportedly approached the dog again and made a similar attempt, but this time screamed “puppy, puppy, puppy.” The dog began to bark and tried to go after Rosselle. The man was once again told to stay back from the dog. After the ill man was taken away by paramedics, officers were talking to members of the camp informing them they were not allowed to stay on private property, when Rosselle reportedly approached Kilo and his handler from behind.

An officer saw Rosselle reportedly pull the dog's tail, which resulted in the dog again trying to go after the man. This time Rosselle was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail on one count of obstruction/offences against police dogs. He is being held in lieu of $500 bail.