Lawyers for officer accused of slitting dog’s throat seek to disqualify Mosby from case

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Lawyers for a former Baltimore police detective accused of slitting a dog’s throat have asked for an independent prosecutor because of State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby’s relationship with William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr.

Jeffrey Bolger’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court, although the sides are seeking a continuance. But Bolger’s former co-defendant, Officer Thomas Schmidt, who is represented by Murphy, had charges against him dismissed soon after Mosby assumed office in January.

Murphy, of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy P.A., served on Mosby’s transition team and donated $4,000 to her campaign, according to campaign finance records. He also represents the family of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man whose death sparked rioting last month and led to charges against six city police officers.

“The newly elected State’s Attorney appears to have engaged in a troubling pattern of favoritism and politically motivated charging decisions,” Bolger’s lawyers wrote in their motion, which was filed Thursday. “The public could easily conclude that the dismissal of the case against Officer Schmidt … was a small favor for a political mentor.”

Bolger is represented lawyers with Levin & Curlett LLC in Baltimore. Charles N. Curlett Jr. supported Mosby’s opponent, former state’s attorney Gregg L. Bernstein, and donated $500 to Bernstein’s campaign in 2010, according to campaign finance records.

Steven H. Levin, who also represents Bolger, declined to comment Friday because the case is pending.

Bolger, 50, who recently retired, pleaded not guilty to animal mutilation and cruelty charges in September 2013, three months after the incident in which he cut the dog’s throat after responding to a report that a dog had bitten a pregnant woman.

Bolger’s lawyers previously argued in a motion to dismiss he was authorized to euthanize the dog under the city health code because the dog had caused a puncture wound and Animal Control had not arrived on the scene despite numerous requests.

The motion to dismiss says the dog, a 7-year-old named Nala, fought the restraint of a dog pole for more than an hour. Had the dog escaped, the woman would have had to undergo rabies testing, which Bolger understood could harm her unborn child, that motion said.

In December, Bolger’s lawyers said in court filings witnesses will testify the Shar-Pei was “lifeless” for approximately five minutes after strangling itself on the dog pole it was attached to. The defense has also retained Dr. David Fowler, the state’s chief medical examiner, who will testify the lack of blood where Bolger began his incision “demonstrates the dog’s heart had already stopped beating,” according to the court filing.

Thursday’s motion to disqualify notes Mosby rejected the medical examiner’s findings in Bolger’s case but agreed with the finding that Gray’s death was a homicide.

“The public will have to sort out its own questions with regard to what effect the State’s Attorney’s relationship with the attorney for the Gray family had on the charging decisions in that case,” the motion states. “But as long as those questions are being asked in the public square, the State’s Attorney cannot avoid the appearance of impropriety with regard to the continuing prosecution of the case against Agent Bolger.”

A spokeswoman for Mosby’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.