North Sioux City Police Officer Derek McIntosh received a 30 day jail sentence after being convicted of killing an animal. McIntosh shot a stray cat and then lied about it. McIntosh got caught after Officer Stephanie Ryan responded to a report of a cat in a trap at a cemetery and told Captain Dustin Sharkey afterwards that she had just saved the cat's life. When Sharkey asked Ryan what she meant by that she told him that she had heard rumors about McIntosh shooting stray cats in that cemetery. We don't know why Ryan did not report the cat rumors sooner. If she had she could have really saved the cat that McIntosh was convicted of killing.
When police went to the cemetery they found at least two dead cats along with a pair of gloves identical to the ones issued to NSCPD officers. He also shot a cat that was not a stray. That cat turned out to be a pet owned by a man and a woman. The man confronted McIntosh who told him that the department sometimes releases cats in the cemetery.
When called into a meeting with Mayor Randy Fredrickson and a city administrator named Ted Cherry, McIntosh admitted shooting cats in the past but denied shooting any in the cemetery. Then they told him he would be placed on leave and he admitted to shooting the cat.
Animal cruelty is a widely known sign of more serious mental health issues like anti-social personality disorder. Many serial killers including Jeffrey Dahmer started off killing animals.