NORTH CAROLINA -- Wednesday, the Highway Patrol suspended all K9 operations at the agency. The patrol says after hearing testimony from troopers, officials feel the need to re-evaluate K9 procedures.
This action comes on the heels of a hearing involving alleged dog abuse by a former state trooper. That trooper, Sgt. Charles Jones, testified on Wednesday in an attempt to get his job back. He was fired in September after another trooper recorded video of Jones kicking his police dog Ricoh.
During testimony, K9 officers said they did not find the video alarming, and believed the trooper’s actions were in line with Highway Patrol training.
“We're surprised to hear that troopers would believe it would be appropriate to kick and punch and hang a dog out a window and that kind of thing to gain compliance,” said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. “So we determined we need to suspend operations, determine exactly what is going on, and then decide which direction to take with the K9 program in the Highway Patrol."
Beatty says he will likely bring in police dog training experts from outside the state to review training practices within the Highway Patrol.
As for Jones, the former trooper told an administrative law judge that he was not abusing the animal.
“I spent more time with Ricoh than I did my wife,” said Jones, who added, “Ricoh and I could fight, but couldn’t nobody fight with us.”
Wednesday, the Highway Patrol suspended all K9 operations at the agency. The patrol says after hearing testimony from troopers, officials feel the need to re-evaluate K9 procedures.
Jones described Ricoh as an effective – but also very aggressive – police dog. He said he spent a lot of his personal time and money trying to break the dog of a very dangerous habit. “[Ricoh] was a possessive dog. Once he got something, it was his and he had to kill it.”
That’s what Jones says he was doing when another trooper recorded the video in question. Jones says Ricoh was biting a training toy and wouldn’t let go of it like he was told. Jones says it is important for the dog to obey commands immediately, because the toy could have easily been a suspects arm, a bag of drugs or a child.
“Did I act in an ugly manner? Yes sir,” said Jones. “But I think all the troopers yesterday testified we all acted in an ugly manner when training these dogs.”
Jones maintains he never abused Ricoh, he simply combined two acceptable training techniques: suspending the dog and striking him. Jones compared it to spanking a child who has misbehaved.
"If it's wrong, you need to tell the Highway Patrol it's wrong because the Highway Patrol is the one saying we can do this stuff,” testified Jones.
Both sides rested their case on Wednesday, and the judge now has 45 days to decide if the Highway Patrol was justified in firing Jones.
Officials say use of the K9 dogs will be suspended until the Highway Patrol has completed its investigation. Dogs will remain with troopers during the suspension. The agency says if it needs police dog presence, it will call on nearby agencies to assist.