The San Francisco District Attorney announced Wednesday that the man accused of strangling his dog to death in public has been charged.

Charles Wentworth, 46, faces a felony charge of unlawfully killing an animal, the DA said.

Police said the incident happened on Monday and described the assault as "extremely disturbing."

Officers were first alerted to the incident around 11:30 a.m. when multiple people called police, telling them a man was assaulting his dog in public.

According to court documents, witnesses described seeing Wentworth dragging his pit bull, named Smokey, by its leash, and that at one point, he began choking the dog by lifting it into the air using its leash/collar. The DA said witnesses saw the dog go limp, collapse on ground and become unresponsive. 

Court documents state that Wentworth was still allegedly dragging the dog by its leash and its tongue was hanging out of its mouth when officers got to the scene.

The DA said they will try to keep Wentworth detained pending trial, citing an alleged public safety risk.