Geist (a weimaraner) was shot and killed in his owner’s Sugar House backyard when police were searching for a missing child. We have not yet received the SLPD’s side of the story. We are awaiting a press conference by Chief Burbank to be held this evening. The dog owner as well as many Salt Lake City residents are enraged by this seemingly unnecessary killing of an innocent animal.

Anybody who believes animals are much more than “private property” have a great opportunity to show support for accountability of our peace officers and see that justice is found for the death of Geist.

 Saturday June 28th from 10:00 AM — 1 PM a rally will be held in front of the 475 South 300 East (in front of the Public Safety Building). This will be a peaceful rally, signs are encouraged.

These words were posted on Facebook by organizer Ryan Peltekian

We as Utahans are in a remarkable position right now. We have the eyes of the country on us. They are paying attention. We need to come through for them. Just one example, I just got a call from a nice lady in Los Angeles, she says that the police are killing dogs all the time. She is very thankful that we are taking a stand. She is so happy that we are doing something about it. I told her that we are going to profoundly change the laws here and that Utah will set a new example for other states to follow. I told her that Utahans will lead the fight for this. She could not stop saying thank you.
To all the Justice for Geist supporters, it’s very important to show your presence on Saturday. We will lead by example. We will be successful by standing together on Saturday.

Ryan Peltekian

On a personal note: We met Geist and Sean Kendall in a brief encounter about two months ago at the City Creek off-leash area. Both owner and dog were very friendly and our golden retriever played with Geist, the giant puppy who was certainly a beautiful animal. While this is certainly a main-stream media story Utah Stories will be covering the rally for our upcoming July issue.

Visit the Justice For Geist Rally Page