http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16511651/detail.html Judge: N.C. Trooper Fired For Dog Treatment Should Resume Work
POSTED: 2:05 pm EDT June 5, 2008
UPDATED: 5:45 pm EDT June 5, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C. -- A judge decided Thursday that a Highway Patrol trooper who was fired after pictures became public of him kicking his police dog should be reinstated with back pay and attorneys fees. Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison said that former Sgt. Charles Jones didn't intend to hurt his dog. Jones in a 12-year veteran who headed K-9 training. Pictures taken by another trooper with a cell phone camera showed Jones kicking the dog, Ricoh, and hanging him by his leash from a railing. Morrison said testimony during a hearing showed Jones was trying to get the dog to release a treat in actions that lasted about 13 seconds. The pictures were made public and Gov. Mike Easley ordered that Jones be fired. "Dog experts say trooper Jones' conduct was completely unacceptable," Easley said Thursday following the judge's decision. "If the state has to resort to that level of cruelty to train dogs demonstrated in the video by trooper Jones, then they will simply not be in the dog business." Bryan Beatty, secretary of the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol, believed the judge made the right decision, said patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin. Clendenin said the judge's recommendation will be reviewed by the Office of State Personnel, which can reject, modify or agree with the decision. After the incident became public, the Highway Patrol suspended its canine program. Clendenin said it remains suspended during an internal review.
