Wednesday morning, Chesterfield County Council met to discuss the county's animal shelter, following an five-month investigation of the shelter by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.
Last week, Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker fired four shelter employees. The employees shot and killed as many as 22 dogs in March. Shelter volunteers discovered the animals' bodies in a landfill near the shelter.
Sheriff Parker, who runs the shelter through the sheriff's office, placed the workers on administrative leave pending an investigation.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division initially started looking into the shootings, but turned the investigation over to the Attorney General's Office.
Last week, the Attorney General issued a consent order in the case. It says shelter workers failed to follow authorized euthanasia procedures. The order says Sheriff Sam Parker did not authorize the employees to shoot and kill the dogs. The order requires random inspections of the shelter by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Chesterfield County Humane Society.
If the consent order is approved, the shelter has 30 days to apply or risk civil and criminal penalties. We will let you know the council's decision.
