East Palo Alto man arrested on suspicion of felony animal cruelty

An East Palo Alto man was arrested today on suspicion of felony animal cruelty involving a dog in the area of Avocet Drive in Redwood Shores, police said.

On Wednesday, Redwood City police published digital images of a suspect seen on video surveillance abusing the dog. The man, identified as 30-year-old Michael Flore, was seen “pulling the dog by its leash then swinging it into the air and forcefully slamming it to the ground multiple times while he recorded it on his cell phone,” police said.

Police originally learned of the incident after a witness reported the abuse on Sunday.

The release of digital images on social media led to thousands of tips from the public, and ultimately the public helped Redwood City police detectives to identify Fore and obtain an arrest warrant for felony animal cruelty, police said.

Fore was located by police at his home on Newell Road in East Palo Alto today about 3:36 p.m. He attempted to evade officers by climbing out onto the balcony from his third-floor apartment and onto the roof of the apartment complex, police said. The officers detained him on the rooftop without further incident.

Fore was later booked into the San Mateo County Jail. Detectives located the dog’s owner, who was unaware of the incident. The dog had no signs of lasting injury and is doing well, police said.

“The Redwood City Police Department would like to thank the public as well as the East Palo Alto Police Department for their assistance in identifying and locating the suspect in this case,” police said.

Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Russ Felker at 650-780-7627.