Brookhaven police arrested 19-year-old rapper and Twitch streamer Aspen Easterling, who performs under the name Aspen Kartier, after a video showing her allegedly abusing a puppy surfaced on social media. Fox5 Atlanta reported that the department received numerous complaints about the videos which appeared to depict Easterling hitting a 3-month-old Maltipoo on a Twitch stream.
Following these allegations, officers executed a search warrant at a residence on the 1000 block of Town Boulevard at around 9:35 p.m. last Friday, and, Easterling was subsequently arrested and taken to the DeKalb County Jail. "The police department said it received numerous complaints about the videos allegedly showing 19-year-old Aspen Easterling, also known as Aspen Kartier, hitting the dog on a Twitch stream," Fox5 Atlanta reported. The puppy involved in the incident was located by officers and appeared to be in good health at the time of the discovery.
Easterling now faces animal cruelty charges, and DeKalb County Animal Control has taken custody of the dog as a safeguard. WSBTV relayed that Easterling's Twitch channel has been made temporarily unavailable as it violates community guidelines, while PETA expressed condemnation for her actions by posting a clip of the viral videos on their platform.
Much remains unclear amidst the ongoing investigation such as if the Maltipoo will be permanently removed from Easterling's custody and whether the dog sustained any injuries not apparent during the initial health assessment by the police. As for the Twitch ban, its duration is still pending an internal investigation by the platform, "The length of the temporary Twitch ban is pending an internal investigation," Fox5 Atlanta clarified. Brookhaven Police Department continues to encourage anyone with further information regarding the case to reach out.
