PHOENIX - Dr. Nancy Bradley has discs of grizzly and graphic pictures that give a snapshot of the gruesome animal cruelty cases she has seen and worked on over the past few years.
The current ones keep her busy too.
From vulgar sexual assaults to animals beaten, stabbed and shot, the cruel acts run the gamut.
“If people are going to do this to animals, we will find you,” said a stern Bradley.
To do that, Bradley, the Director of Medical Services at the Arizona Humane Society, uses technology not usually seen in the animal world.
“I think we're cutting edge here at the Arizona Humane Society,” added Bradley.
Using CSI-type techniques, Bradley does a range of forensic work to help investigators catch and prosecute animal cruelty criminals.
Under the cover of darkness, Bradley uses a black light to look for DNA left by a criminal in sexual assaults. In those unimaginable cases, Bradley uses a swab to collect any evidence.
“It’s basically like a rape kit on a woman or child,” said Bradley.
She can also take imprint of animal injuries. Bradley fills in the wound with a clay-like substance to get a mold of it to try and figure out what type of weapon may have been used in abuse cases.
Bradley said all of the evidence is carefully collected and stored and then handed over to the law enforcement agency handling the case.
“Animal cruelty leads to bigger crimes as exemplified in the serial shooter [case]. They started out with horses in Tolleson, moved onto dogs, and moved up to the two-legged variety. We need to take these types of cases seriously because these people do move on.”
Phoenix police detectives said Bradley's work helped them with the serial shooter case, a badge of honor in Bradley’s view.
“The bullets we had actually removed and given to police were significant in that case. So to me, that's very gratifying.”
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s renowned animal cruelty unit also relies on Bradley's work.
“She's listed as one of the foremost authorities in the United States as far as forensics for animals,” said senior investigator Harvey Redman. “Whatever she tells me is gold. She will lead you down exactly how you have to do it, what needs to be done, how it has to be presented in court, and that's what we follow.”
