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Crime & Public Safety

Atlanta man seen kicking cat like football on Instagram gets 6-month sentence

Jamari Davenport was sentenced for kicking a cat in an Instagram video in 2018.
Jamari Davenport was sentenced for kicking a cat in an Instagram video in 2018.
Zachary Hansen
Jan 13, 2020

An Atlanta man who filmed himself kicking a cat in an Instagram video pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty charge and was sentenced Monday, authorities said.

Jamari Leon Davenport, 23, was sentenced to six months in custody followed by 240 hours of community service for the misdemeanor conviction, the Office of the Fulton County Solicitor General said in a news release.

Jamari Leon Davenport
Jamari Leon Davenport

The video showed Davenport violently kicking the cat like a football outside a Chevron gas station on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in early July, AJC.com previously reported.

He turned himself in the next month after police received tips through Crime Stoppers Atlanta. He was released from jail the next day on a $3,000 bond, online jail records show.

During the sentencing, Judge Jane Morrison called Davenport’s actions “performative violence done for an audience,” saying the attack warranted jail time, the release said.

Once his time in custody is over, Davenport will have to complete his community service at locations without animals or children.

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