Police arrest man who allegedly beat dog with a hammer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- South Bend Police arrested a man who allegedly beat a dog with a hammer and then buried it in the snow.

Police were called to the 200 block of E. Altgeld for an animal cruelty incident.

When officers arrived, they dug the dog out of the snow and rushed it to a local animal clinic. Another officer began searching for the suspect.

The suspect, John Hill, was taken into custody on a preliminary charge of cruelty to an animal.

The dog had to be euthanized, police said.

“This was an extremely difficult and emotional situation for all the officers involved, but it was also great police work. Thank you, Officer Hof, for getting this poor dog to the vet as quickly as possible and thank you Sgt. Riddle for making sure we got the person suspected in this heinous act,” the police department wrote in a Facebook post.

UPDATE: At trial, Hill was found not guilty of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal.