Two Essex police officers convicted of cruelty to police dogs have been dismissed from the force.
Sergeant Andrew White, 38, and Police Constable Kenneth Boorman, 45, who both face four months in jail if they lose their appeal next month, will leave the force immediately.
PC Stephen Hopkins, 42, who was given 200 hours community service after the case, was reprimanded by Chief Constable David Stephens and banned from working with police dogs.
All three were convicted in December of kicking and punching dogs at the force training centre at Sandon in Essex.
White was head of training and Boorman an instructor at the unit where the court found five German Shepherd dogs were cruelly punished between September and December 1997.
It was alleged during the three-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court that dogs who misbehaved were swung around in the air by their leads "helicopter fashion".
Their choke chains were used to hang them from fences and posts as they were beaten.
The death of German Shepherd Acer, who was raised from a puppy by police, horrified dog lovers and caused untold damage to the image of all professional dog training centres.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.