Dothan police investigators arrested 57-year-old William Henry Roberson last Friday and charged him with misdemeanor animal cruelty after animal shelter employees discovered a live puppy had been placed inside a storage freezer at the shelter.
Dothan Police Maj. Steve Parrish said Roberson was suspended from duty after a determination hearing held earlier this week with Chief Greg Benton. Parrish declined to reveal the length of the suspension, calling it a personnel matter, but he did confirm it was an unpaid suspension.
The puppy, a mixed breed dog, later died.
Dothan Police Sgt. Adrianne Woodruff, the supervisor of the Dothan Animal Shelter, said the puppy was about three months old, and had been brought in to the shelter about a week earlier. She said the puppy was sick that day, and had been kept in the quarantine room.
Woodruff said the puppy was placed inside a chest freezer used to store the city’s euthanized animals prior to their being taken to the landfill.
According to a statement released Thursday, after a thorough investigation by the Dothan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, it was determined Roberson placed what he thought was a deceased dog into the storage freezer. It was later determined the dog was unconscious and appeared deceased.
The statement also said there was actually one live, but unconscious animal in a cage and one deceased animal in a different cage in the same room, but Roberson overlooked the deceased animal.
Earlier this week Parrish explained a violation of the City of Dothan personnel rules had occurred, but he declined to reveal what type. But he said there are typically three types of violations, which include minor, major and intolerable.
The police statement Thursday said the case was presented to the chief as a violation of City of Dothan personnel rules and regulations regarding misconduct, a major offense.
Roberson has worked for the City of Dothan for 21 years, which included 14 years as an animal control officer.
Woodruff said Roberson is one of four animal control officers for the City of Dothan.
“They answer calls for service on the street. They set traps for stray animals and they do bite reports for people,” Woodruff said. “They also help clean the shelter.”
She said all four of the officers are certified euthanasia technicians for the City.
“With the exception of my chief animal control officer... he’s the senior officer,” Woodruff said.
(Dothan Eagle - August 28, 2014)
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