Man charged with felony after allegedly dragging dogs behind truck in Haskell

The full text of the officer’s narrative from the official court file is included at the end of the article.

Prosecutors in the 22nd Judicial District have formally filed a Class D felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty against a 46-year-old Malvern man following a June traffic stop in Haskell. The formal charge against Bryan Edward Cook was officially entered on Oct. 23, 2026, in Saline County Circuit Court. Read more below.

According to court documents filed under Case No. 63CR-26-778-2, Cook faces one count of Aggravated Cruelty to a Dog, Cat, or Equine under Arkansas Code § 5-62-104. The felony information alleges that on or about June 23, 2026, Cook unlawfully and feloniously tortured dogs by attaching them to the tow hitch of his pickup truck and driving down the road.

The formal court filing stems from an early morning incident documented by the Haskell Police Department. At approximately 5:54 a.m. on June 23, Officer Benjamin S. Cody was on patrol when he observed a white 2022 Ford F-150 traveling down Highway 67 and turning onto Highway 229. The officer reported seeing a dark object attached to a red rope being dragged from the truck’s hitch along the pavement, leaving a wet streak on the roadway. After determining the object was an animal, the officer initiated a traffic stop near Creek Road.

According to the incident report, Cook denied knowing the animals were attached to his vehicle or owning any dogs, stating he lived alone. Officers noted blood splatter and dog hair on the rear of the vehicle.

After Police Chief Tackett arrived on the scene and Cook was advised of his Miranda rights, officers searched Cook and the vehicle, locating two handguns in the center console, two unlabeled pill containers in Cook’s pockets, and a camouflage bag containing custom-organized plastic containers holding syringes, medical items, and personal effects.

Cook was taken into custody and booked into the Saline County Detention Center. Under Arkansas statute § 5-62-104, a Class D felony conviction for aggravated animal cruelty carries potential penalties including state imprisonment, up to 400 hours of community service, and mandatory psychiatric or psychological evaluation and treatment.

The full text of the officer’s narrative from the official court file is included below:

Haskell Police Department Case Summary Narrative (Incident # 2026-0318):

On 6/23/2026, while out on patrol, I, Officer Cody, observed a white F-150 driving down Highway 67 and entering the turning lane to turn onto Highway 229. This white F-150 had a dark object attached to a red rope of some kind that was attached to the hitch and was being dragged behind the vehicle on the ground. I observed what looked like a wet streak being left on the ground behind the object as it was being dragged.

As I got closer to the vehicle, the object being dragged appeared to be an animal of some kind. At that point, I initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle on Highway 229 in front of Creek Rd. After initiating the stop, I instructed the driver to exit the vehicle and walk to the back of the truck.

I asked the driver what was going on behind the truck, and he responded with, “What the f— is that?”

I then instructed the driver to place his hands behind his back and then placed him into custody. I asked the driver if the dogs attached to the tow hitch were his, and he responded with “no.”

I began to remove the items from his person, such as his wallet, medicine, and pocket knives. I asked him if he had noticed the splatter of what appeared to be blood and dog hair on the back of the vehicle, and he responded that he came out of his house and walked down to the trash can to throw away some trash and that he must have stepped right over them.

I then placed the driver into the rear of my patrol unit and requested assistance from Chief Tackett. While waiting for the Chief’s arrival, I took pictures of the animals and the rear end of the vehicle and identified the driver as Bryan Cook.

Upon Chief Tackett’s arrival on scene, I advised Mr. Cook of his Miranda rights and asked him if the dogs belong to him or if he has ever seen these dogs before, to which he responded no, he has never seen these dogs before. He stated that he lives alone and that he does not own these dogs.

After advising Mr. Cook of his Miranda rights, I conducted a search of the vehicle to recover the firearms, as well as a search for any other kind of pills, because Mr. Cook had two containers in his pocket with unlabeled medications.

While searching the vehicle, I located a camo bag. Inside the camo bag were two clear containers. Both containers had foam cutouts, one of them containing needles and syringes, as well as bottles of juice, an inhaler, a vape, fingernail clippers, and fingernail files.

Inside these containers, they were tampered with to make a specific place inside the box; the inhaler had a cutout specific to the shape of the inhaler, and there were foam squares placed inside the box to separate items to keep them in a certain position and separated.

There was a ziplock bag containing individually packaged Ritz crackers, all placed inside the bag facing the same direction and folded flat as if they were placed in a specific manner. I also opened the center console under the center front seat and located the two firearms placed on top of a towel.

After securing the firearms and taking photographs of the vehicle and animals, I released the vehicle to Newcomb Towing. After releasing the vehicle, I transported Mr. Cook to the Saline County Detention Center. I completed an ADR, advised Mr. Cook of the charges, and left him in the custody of the SCDC staff.

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