Friday, April 4, 2014

Barrow County animal control officer resigns in wake of photo scandal

GEORGIA -- A senior Barrow County Animal Control officer resigned Friday after he lost his promotion to director due to alleged unprofessional pictures posted on a social media website.

Danyal Harper, who was supposed to take over as animal control director starting April 14, saw his new job disappear when the Barrow County Board of Commissioners met in executive session Wednesday to discuss the “unprofessional” pictures posted on a site call Photobucket.

The board voted unanimously to rescind the promotion, County Commission Chairman Pat Graham said Friday.

Harper, who had worked for nine years at the facility, was placed on administrative leave while County Manager Randall Dowling and the human resources director investigated the matter. On Friday, Dowling announced that Harper had resigned.

The pictures started circulating in the Winder community soon after Harper’s promotion was announced.

“The photos that surfaced were very unprofessional and not something you would want to see from someone in a supervisory position that will oversee animal welfare,” Graham said. “We saw it as unprofessional and it made us question whether or not he was the appropriate person for the job.”

One picture allegedly posted by Harper depicted what appears to be a dead cat on the roadside with a sign reading “Free Cat.” Another alleged posting is a picture of a cat with text that reads: “Kittens: You have to love them. God knows you’ve killed so many already.”

The Animal Control office has an interim director, Jimmy Terrell, a former Winder police chief, who will remain in the position until a new director is hired.

“I’ve been asked to stay and I’ll stay while we do some reorganization and review the program,” Terrell said.

(Online Athens - April 4, 2014)

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