Port Jervis man arrested after video shows alleged dog abuse

A neighbor’s surveillance video on Railroad Avenue turned a private apartment-building incident into a citywide animal-cruelty case, after Port Jervis police arrested 56-year-old Duke Boamah the next day on two counts under New York law. The footage, recorded May 14 outside a Port Jervis apartment building, appeared to show Boamah grabbing a dog by the neck, slapping it, kicking it and lifting it roughly while the animal whined and yelped.

Jessica Perkowski, who recorded the video, said she felt helpless watching what she believed the dog was enduring. She posted the clips to Facebook, where outrage spread quickly through the community and pushed the case well beyond the apartment complex where it began.

Police said the arrest came on May 15, one day after the recording, and the charges were filed under New York Agriculture and Markets Law. Section 353 of that law makes cruelty to animals a class A misdemeanor. The dog was taken first to a veterinary clinic and then turned over to the Humane Society of Port Jervis-Deerpark, which declined to disclose the animal’s condition because the investigation remained active.

The Port Jervis Police Department said officers had responded to multiple calls at Boamah’s apartment before the animal-cruelty arrest. Police also said Boamah had been arrested May 11 in a separate harassment case tied to what officers described as a physical altercation. Both matters were pending in Port Jervis City Court when the case drew public attention.

The episode also put a spotlight on the local systems that handle animal abuse complaints after the fact. The Humane Society of Port Jervis-Deerpark serves Port Jervis, Deerpark and the broader tri-state area, placing it at the center of cases that move quickly from a neighborhood complaint to official intervention. Orange County also maintains an Animal Abuser Registry, created in 2015 under Rocky’s Law by the Orange County Legislature, for people convicted of animal cruelty who live in the county.

In a city where a single video can trigger immediate scrutiny, the case showed how quickly evidence, neighbor reporting and public pressure can force a response when residents believe an animal is being harmed and fear the behavior could continue without intervention.