A state administrative law judge today called for the reinstatement of a state trooper who was videotaped kicking his dog while it was suspended from a deck.
Judge Fred Morrison concluded that state officials short circuited disciplinary procedures in firing Sgt. Charles Jones over his treatment of the dog, reports Jane Ruffin.
Jones was fired in September, a month after a trooper used a cell phone to record footage of Jones suspending his dog, Ricoh, from a railing, then kicking him at least five times. Jones insisted that what he did was not abusive and that trainers had used several other rough methods.
Ricoh, a 7-year-old Belgian Malinois, was not seriously hurt. He has since been retired from the patrol.
Morrison also said the state should not use dogs such as Ricoh for law enforcement purposes unless it purchases fully-trained canines to be handed by trained troopers who receive specific written techniques for compliance.
The N.C. Highway Patrol suspended its canine program last month until a review determines if dogs were regularly mistreated.
Document(s):
jones order.pdf
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Re: Judge: State should reinstate trooper
RescueMom,
I fully sympathize with your perspective about the trooper and his abuse of the dog. The point here, which is easily lost (forgive the pun), is that the judge is saying that this man is entitled to the full review and consideration that the law outlines. It can't be skipped by Governor Easley for his convenience. The question the judge dealt with was whether or not the law was followed, not whether this guy is a good egg or bad egg. The decision about whether the employee is good or bad was supposed to have been made in the course of the aforementioned procedural review, not by the governor's PR staff. It may sound like technicalities to you, but you'd want your own procedural due process, wouldn't you, if you were accused of wrongdoing?
As a fervent dog-lover, I can tell you that my reaction was the same as yours when I saw that video. But as someone who is also sick to death of politicians unlawfully interferring with the law they're sworn to uphold, I'm GLAD that Morrison came the the conclusion he did.
And I have the strong sense that this officer is going to be under a lot of scrutiny now.