08/28/2026
There's a powerful message here in Chief Weaver's words. We're grateful to be working alongside a police department with such a community oriented mindset.
"We can all be better. We can all do better. And perhaps most importantly, we can all take a moment to understand someone else's perspective before we judge them.
We are not opposing sides.
We are all Camden."
— Allen Weaver
Chief of Police'
I want to take a moment to address the overwhelming interest and emotion surrounding the recent incident involving a dog in a vehicle in downtown Camden.
First and foremost, I ask everyone for a little calm, patience, and understanding on both sides of this issue.
Officer Tooley was acting within his capacity and his responsibility to uphold the law based on the circumstances and information available to him at the time.
At the same time, as a community-oriented police department, I believe we can look at this incident honestly and recognize that there are things that could have been handled differently. That is not about assigning blame. It is about learning from an experience and finding ways that we can do better moving forward.
I have not yet had the opportunity to personally meet Mrs. Harish and her husband, but from everything I have been told, they are caring and compassionate people who have chosen to be part of our community. They are local healthcare providers who came to Camden to serve a community that, like so many others, is experiencing challenges with access to healthcare and limited staffing. They chose Camden not only because of the opportunity to serve, but because of the warmth and welcoming nature of this community.
I have seen far too many negative comments and personal attacks directed at people on both sides of this issue. Whatever your opinion of what happened, I don't believe that is who we are as a community. An incident that began with people being concerned about the welfare of an animal should not become something that divides neighbors and turns us against one another.
We can disagree about what happened. We can believe that someone could have handled something differently. We can support our police officers while also understanding the perspective of a citizen who was concerned about a dog. Those things can all be true at the same time.
I ask everyone to take a step back, take a breath, and look around at the beautiful community we share. Camden is a community built on people caring for one another. That is what makes this place special, and that is something worth protecting.
We can all be better. We can all do better. And perhaps most importantly, we can all take a moment to understand someone else's perspective before we judge them.
We are not opposing sides.
We are all Camden.
— Allen Weaver
Chief of Police
Camden Police Department
