On the morning of Wednesday Feb 15th the State of Connecticut Department of Agriculture violently raided the private residence of quiet, law abiding citizen Christine Koczur. Ms. Koczur, a college educated professional and avid animal rights activist, was prominent in her role as founder and president of the non-profit organization the Alliance for Animal Rescue Society (AARS). She was not suspected of committing a violent offense, kidnapping children or dealing drugs, yet was treated with the harsh standards of conduct reserved for such offenders. She was inappropriately labeled an animal "hoarder" or collector ... catch phrase for the latest in popular shocking scandalous tabloid/news trends.
According to the letter of the law at the time, no-knock warrants were considered quite extreme and contrary to appropriate police conduct. Not only did the authorities violate the required knock-and-announce stipulation, they never gave Christine a copy of the 13 page warrant. After much insistance by Christine, she finally obtained one illegible page which only contained the address of the location to be searched. When she asked where the remainder of the document was, she was told "shut the f*ck up and get out before I decide to arrest you. I don't need a reason, so you'd better f*cking do whatever I say while I am still in the mood to be a nice guy"
They tore her home to shreds, ripping cabinets and radiators out of the wall, toppling furniture, breaking family heirlooms, destroying or stealing important paperwork and personal items, and breaking new window after the unsuccessful use of a batterring ram on her front door. They used unnecessary violence and excessive force terrorizing all of the elderly, handicapped, frightened cats, wrangling and stuffing them into the filthy, contaminated carriers they came with.
Christine personally saved each of the cats from near death. Struggling to survive in the harshest of conditions, alone in the elements - starving, injured, handicapped, abused, tortured, tormented, abandoned...each of these animals had suffered and was in desperate need. She adopted out all of the viable candidates and the "undesirables" (the elderly, handicapped, or grossly disfigured, those with chronic medical conditions requiring constant care, or behavioral issues) that no one else wanted came to live with her because they had no where else to go. Most other organizations euthanize these types of cats because of the financial and laborsome burden they imposed, despite the quality of life the animals are still able to enjoy as they acclimate to their limitations under proper treatment and care.
All of the cats was spayed or neutered, vaccinated (well beyond the requirement of the law)tested (repeatedly) for feline FeLv, FIV, and all other relevant feline conditions. They were fed a high quality diet and there was a plentiful supply of fresh food and water available at all times throughout the home. One dozen litterboxes were freshened several times a day. All medical conditions were addressed and undergoing prescribed treatment. Supplements and medications were administered as directed by veterinarians.
Despite evidence of these facts provided to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture days before, during and after the raid, that agency continued to make statements to the press and claims to the court not only to the contrary of the facts and evidence, but deliberately and maliciously defamatory. Not only were some of their outrageous claims completely false, but medically impossible ("flea nests throughout the home, in the couch, bed, and even in the hair of the woman" http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7552/CT/US/)
FACTS:
~ There were NO FLEAS found on ANY of the cats while in the home or upon examination by the veterinarian who examined them immediately after leaving.
~ Animal control tried to blame Koczur for conditions they developed (including fleas) from several weeks to six months after they were no longer under her care. These were either documented pre-existing conditions that the animal control chose to ignore and let go untreated (that were being treated by Ms. Koczur) or conditions that developed due to the hideously unsanitary, inappropriate conditions the cats were kept in and the neglect they were subject to under animal control supervision, the gross negligence of ignoring their medical needs.
This was particularly evident in the Harwinton shelter under the direction of Diane Dodge. She is good friends with Gregan as he and her husband regularly go hunting together (how she obtained and maintains her position). She gave perjurous testimony repeatedly, which was refuted with photographic and documented evidence. She admitted to being "afraid" of many of Ms. Koczur's cats and lacked even a remedial understanding of the nature and proper treatment of feline health.
Yet there is no system in place to hold these authorities liable for their perjury (PROVEN WHILE THEY WERE ON THE STAND, with DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE and their recanting prior testimony or having sudden loss of memory) .... yet the court chose to ignore it and no one seems to care about the truth.
~ An independent Veterinarian visited the house only hours earlier examined the cats and found them to be in good health, and the living conditions to be sanitary.
~ Officer Gregan spoke to Dr. Dimmick prior to obtaining the search warrant and was aware of this fact, yet totally ignored and disregarded his findings.
~ Officer Gregan made repeated unannounced WARRANTLESS inspections of the residence between October and February 2006 without the consent of Ms. Koczur. He attempted to gain unauthorized access to the premisis by "trying" the doors and windows. He testified the fact that the doors were locked and the shades were drawn constituted "obvious signs of guilt".
His tresspass on the property was thwarted twice by Ms. Koczur. On the first occasion, he ran to his vehicle and sped off. On the second, both he and Ms. Godejohn (his assistant) attempted to physically push their way past Ms. Koczur to enter the residence after she caught them attempting to gain access to her home through the basement door. They threatened and harrassed her, never stating why they were there or what offense she supposedly committed. Luckily, her neighbor arrived home, and with the eye witness present, the pair made a quick retreat.
Gregan even contacted the Torrington Area Health District. In an unprecidented breach of proper and ethical procedure, he asked them to investigate an "anonymous complaint" of odor due to 75-100 cats in the residence. When the sanitarian reported back to him that there were no such violations and the case would be closed, he became irate and insisted that it remain open until they "find something".
~ Ms. Koczur was on the CTDOA "hit list" - the list of people who were "do-gooders" who did not "play the game", "respect (their) absolute authority", "shut up and not make waves", "understand (their) place". Ms. Koczur had made complaints about some of the most severe abuse cases she came across in her rescue work. After numerous contacts and evasions by Mr. Gregan, Ms. Koczur went over his head. Still, Mr. Gregan continued to shirk his responsibilities.
Then she was threatened outright by Bruce Gresczyk and informed of her status on their "hit list". He made it clear that they (the department) wanted "her kind", the "know-it-all pathetic bleeding heart animal lovers" out of business and out of the state. It was only a matter of time before they (the department) would "make an example" of her. Maybe if she was "good" and kept her "big mouth shut" they would decide to leave her alone for the time being. He made it very clear that they could execute their absolute authority at any time they chose, without a reason. They were "God", free to arbitrarily set and enforce the standard of care.
Furthermore, they could make up anything they wanted to "finish" me in every way from being able to conduct business or live in the state. He gave the example, that if they decided that one can of food was enough food for fifty cats for the lady down the street and 50 cans was not enough for my one cat, then that was final. If they decided to paint the picture of me as the torturer of animals, just like the people I had reported, they could do it. "We know how to get to you people, through your animals. It is all that you care about. We take those away and you are nothing".
~ Ms. Koczur regularly traveled hours transporting every animal in her (and the organization's care) to obtain the best medical care available, including:
Tufts Small Animal Hospital (one of the best veterinary teaching hospitals in the country) http://www.tufts.edu/vet/sah/about.html,
The Cat Hospital of Auburn http://www.thecathospital.com/
CT Vet Center http://www.ctvetcenter.com/
Old Canal Veterinary Clinic http://www.vetcarepc.com/
VCA Northside Animal Hospital http://www.vcanorthsidect.com/
She could have just gone to one of the many local veterinarians in her town as she did when she first started rescuing animals in the early 90's. But Christine ws not an advocate of adequate, but superior care. If that meant driving over two hours each way to get one cat the help that it needed so be it. There were no lengths she was not willing to go to for helping one creature, making such a huge difference to one innocent needy life. If that fact made her "obsessed" then she proudly wore that label as a badge of honor.
The animal control officer was aware of this as the massive files of veterinary records which were seized from her home filled up three boxes. The prosecutor was made aware of this fact with the submission of these documents to him by the defense. Mr. Suarez even complained about the massive amounts of paperwork provided to him. The court was aware of this, yet the judge, for some unknown reason, did not allow these records to be submitted as evidence.
However, Dr. Dimmick's were. Yet for some reason even the Supreme Court of Connecticut chose to disregard this evidence as well as the numerous of pages of testimony proving that the cats did have medical care and were in compliance with the state law for rabies vaccinations. The cats were not "diseased" but had a wide range of chronic challenging medical conditions for which they all were being medicated and treated by veterinary specialists. Most were disabled, elderly, had behavioral issues, or required special care (special needs cats). Despite the best care and conditions in Ms. Koczur's home, years scavanging for scraps, being without shelter or medical treatment living out on the street without the basic necessities wreak havoc on the body, rendering the animals with many lifelong health challenges. These animals were not "adoptable" yet they led quality lives because of the exemplory care provided to them.
~ These are obvious facts to ANYONE seriously involved in rescue. However, the judges were obviously not well-versed with any knowledge of animals. The trial judge stopped several times to clarify what a cat carrier was. Several people explained, but he still seemed baffled and asked again a few minutes later. By the time any technical questioning was going on, he was dozing off, looking out the window, or peering down the blouse of the ample intern seated in front of him.
