Just hours after we were notified that four animal shelter employees were fired by the Chesterfield County Sheriff state Attorney General Alan Wilson announced a consent order regarding the incident where the employees were accused of shooting as many as 22 dogs, as a form of euthanasia, and burying them in a landfill.
The employees had been on administrative leave, but Sheriff Sam Parker said the county had to move forward. He said the animal shelter has been working with one full-time employee and two part-time employees since the shooting in March.
Wilson said in a news release Wednesday that Sheriff Parker has agreed to a consent order issued by the Attorney General's office. That order, which can be read in its entirety here, will come before the Chesterfield County Council for signature at its regular meeting on August 10th. Final approval from the Court of Common Pleas would then be needed.
Wilson said, "This Order clearly charts a way forward for Chesterfield County, and all others, as to what practices are acceptable under the law in this state."
The order states, "On or about March 4, 2011, employees of the Shelter failed to follow authorized euthanasia procedures when killing animals impounded at the Shelter." It goes on to say, "None of the Defendants {Chesterfield County, Sheriff Sam Parker} to this action authorized the employees to depart from the provisions of {section 47-3-420}, and no further failures to comply with {section 47-3-420} have occurred since the incidents on or about March 4, 2011."
That section states, among other things, that shooting may only be used as a means of euthanasia in "an emergency situation to prevent extreme suffering or when the safety of people or other animal life is threatened..." You can read the rest of the section by clicking here and reading the Appendix to the order.
Spokesman for Alan Wilson's office, Mark Plowden, said although it was determined the employees failed to follow procedure, "there wasn't evidence presented in the case to warrant the AG's office filing criminal charges against the employees."
The order does seek to make sure the incident doesn't happen again by mandating a number of things. It says the Chesterfield County shelter, which is operated by the sheriff's office, will agree to allow for random quarterly inspections by the Humane Society beginning October 1st and ending September 30, 2014. The shelter officials will also submit reports to the Humane Society each year.
It says that "any repeat incidents of animals being euthanized by shooting will require Defendants to report such incidents immediately to the Attorney General together with documentation supporting the fact that such shootings are authorized by state section 47-3-420."
Once the order is signed, if it is violated, the AG's office reserves the right to hold the person responsible for violating it in contempt of the order and possibly pursue criminal charges.
We have not heard if Sheriff Parker plans to seek criminal charges against the four employees.
