An Ohio man thought he was doing the right thing earlier this week when he broke into a woman’s car on a warm day to rescue her two dogs — but the police didn’t see it the same way.
After breaking into a woman’s car with a hammer in a Walmart parking lot on Saturday, Richard Hill was cited for criminal damaging, according to multiple reports.
In a Facebook post shared on Saturday, Hill wrote that the incident occurred after he “noticed 2 dogs,” one of which appeared to be “maybe 2-3 months old,” that were “locked in a car with it being 79° at that time.”
While he went on to claim that the older dog was “jumping around” and setting off a car alarm, the younger dog was “just laying there not moving.”
“One of the bystanders called [the Parma, Ohio] police,” he continued, adding that while the bystander said that the authorities were “in [sic] route,” he decided to break into the car anyway because “I felt they needed out right then and there.”
He also claimed that the dogs had been inside the car for “at least” 30 minutes.
Stock photo of a dog in a car
Getty Images
However, according to surveillance video, the dogs were only left alone in the car for four minutes before bystanders called the police at 4:08 p.m., reported Cleveland.com. Two minutes later, Hill was seen smashing the windows, while the authorities arrived at 4:12 p.m.
Additionally, authorities told the outlet that the owner of the pets — who was not cited — returned to the car after spending about 14 minutes inside the store.
Sergeant Dan Ciryak went on to tell that outlet that while “we believe his heart may have been in the right place, he should have waited a little more.”
“He knew the police were coming. I don’t know what his sense of urgency was,” he added.
The Parma Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Ohio passed legislation in 2016 protecting Good Samaritans rescuing pets or minors from hot cars.
The legislation, Senate Bill 215, grants legal protection to individuals, provided they contacted the police first and are able to prove that the pet or child was actually in danger and could not wait for the authorities to arrive.
“You absolutely do have to call the police department in order to be able to move forward,” Elysse Rathbone, Humane Agent for the Capital Area Humane Society, told NBC4I shortly after the bill was passed. “You have to be able to prove that this is an emergency or life threatening incident.”
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Carly Hartman, the owner of the dogs, told FOX 8 that she loves her dogs and “would never put them in danger,” adding that she can no longer drive her car because of the broken window.
Despite the citation, Hill told the outlet that he had no regrets about his actions.
“I even told the officer I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he added.
Hill has a court date schedule for Aug. 15, where he plans on fighting the citation, according to the Associated Press.
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