An Alabama police officer was placed on leave this week after witnesses said the officer was “dragging and strangling” two dogs as the officer responded to an animal complaint.

One witness, Rebecca Ruling, wrote on social media that the Gulf Shores Police Department’s community service officer used unnecessary force and was abusive to the two small dogs.

“Multiple people yelled out to him to get him to stop, but he proceed to choke them and ignored all of us,” she wrote.
on Facebook.

Gulf Shores police said they were investigating the complaint and that the officer was placed on leave as the investigation continues.

“As soon as we became aware of the concerns over how the call was handled, a supervisor became involved,” the department wrote in a press release.