An Alabama police officer was arrested for kidnapping charges on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, while his alleged accomplice was taken into custody for hindering law enforcement.
Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley says David Cunningham, of Mobile, Ala., and Kristin Allen, of Gulfport, were both taken into custody for crimes allegedly committed in late May.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in Gulfport on Saturday, May 24, after reports of shots fired at a house party. Officers discovered a dog had been accidentally shot during “recreational gunfire” at the party. Witnesses pointed authorities to the individual apparently responsible for shooting the dog, saying he had left the scene in the back of a marked police car.
A traffic stop was conducted on the suspected Prichard, Ala., police unit, with Cunningham found driving the car. Cunningham was wearing his police-issued firearm and Prichard PD badge, while the unidentified 21-year-old male sat in the backseat and Allen was in the passenger seat. The man was found handcuffed at the time of the traffic stop, prompting Harrison County deputies to release the male.
An investigation revealed that Cunningham had gone to the Gulfport residence in his marked patrol unit after receiving a call from someone at the party, taking it upon himself to take the male accused of accidentally shooting a dog into his custody. Law enforcement was never notified by Cunningham or Allen.
Due to Cunningham being out of state with no enforcement powers, knowingly detaining an individual and removing him from the scene, Cunningham was charged with felony kidnapping. Allen assisted Cunningham by giving false testimony of the event in an attempt to justify his actions. She was charged with one felony count of hindering prosecution.
Allen turned herself in at the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility on Monday and was given a $50,000 bond. The next day, Cunningham was arrested in Orlando, Fla. and will be held on a $500,000 bond upon extradition from Florida to Mississippi.
