City calls for administrative investigation on Sturgeon cop who killed 13-pound dog
STURGEON, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Sturgeon has initiated an administrative investigation for the police officer who shot and killed a 13-pound dog on May 19, according to a Thursday press release from the city.
Body camera footage from Officer Myron Woodson – which ABC 17 News obtained through a records request – showed that Woodson had shot a blind-and-deaf Shih Tzu about three minutes from his initial contact with the animal.
The city wrote Thursday’s release that an administrative investigation will be conducted by a third party. Woodson has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Capt. Brian Leer, of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC 17 News on Tuesday that the sheriff’s office will not be investigating this incident. Thursday’s release did not say the name of the third party investigating.
“The City of Sturgeon, Missouri board of alderman has initiated an administrative investigation into allegations made against Officer Myron Woodsen. The administrative investigation will be conducted by a third party. Since this administrative investigation involves a law enforcement officer, the City of Sturgeon will follow the process required by section 590.502, RSMo. The board of alderman devoted the time since Tuesday’s meeting preparing a notice to Officer Myron Woodsen of this administrative investigation and his rights under the law. The City of Sturgeon will be required to keep the information gathered through this investigation confidential and upon completion of the process will disclose to the public the information that is required to be disclosed by law,” the release says.
On May 20, the city claimed in a social media post that the officer saw the dog “behaving strangely and displaying signs of possible injuries” that was “perceived to be rabid behavior.” Another social media post from the city last week claimed the city reviewed the footage and believed Woodson “acted within his authority based on the information available to him at the time to protect against possible injury to citizens from what appeared to be an injured, sick, and abandoned dog.”
Mayor Kevin Abrahamson resigned from his position on Saturday, the city confirmed on its Facebook page. The city later wrote online on Saturday that the first time any aldermen saw the footage was after it was reported by ABC 17 News. Mayor Pro-Tem Seth Truesdell will perform the duties of mayor until such vacancy is filled following local ordinance and state law.
Nicholas Hunter -- who owned Teddy, the dog who was shot – filed a lawsuit against the city and Woodson on Tuesday. Hunter’s attorney had told ABC 17 News earlier this week that they are also seeking criminal charges.
The lawsuit also alleges that Woodson had multiple complaints from residents. Woodson has a Class A peace officer license commissioned by the Hallsville Police Department, Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike O’Connell confirmed earlier this week.
Former Cole County prosecutor Bill Tackett said an external investigation needs to take place before any decisions about Woodson can be made. Tackett also said on Wednesday that it's "inexcusable" that an investigation hadn’t started.
Legal experts say that dogs getting shot in the United States by Police Officers is not uncommon.
“A lot of people are surprised to find that the number one reason a law enforcement officer in the United States fires a gun is to shoot a dog. In some places, 75 percent of the time they fire a weapon is to shoot a dog,” Chris Green the Executive Director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund told ABC 17 News. “The U.S. Department of Justice estimated once that they think it may be as high as 10,000 dogs a year are shot by police.”
These incidents have resulted in several high-profile lawsuits. In San Jose, the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was awarded $1.8 million after police killed two rottweilers while executing a search warrant.
“If you can imagine a more problematic client from a PR perspective than a hell’s angle? Well, maybe a child molester but they're up there a dangerous biker gang with dangerous dogs,” Nicholas Hunter’s lawyer, Daniel Kolde said.
Kolde was also a part of a federal lawsuit in St. Louis County after his client's dog was shot by St. Louis Police that settled for $750,000. While there are examples of successful lawsuits over dogs that have been shot by police, Kolde says officers getting fired over it is “exceedingly rare.”
He cited a case in Iowa where a Burlington police officer tried to fend off an attacking dog and accidentally shot the dog's owner. The officer was not fired. However, in 2019, a police officer in Arkansas was fired over shooting a nine-pound dog.
“The problem is with the law, the only thing we can really ask a judge to do civilly is award us money. We can't go in and say, I want you to order them to fire this this guy,” Kolde explained. “The law operates on if you get sued enough and you get sued for enough money, that’s how we make people change their behavior, and really that’s the goal here. We want a behavior change not just on the part of Sturgeon but on the part of law enforcement in general.”
Green says that often times you can’t blame the officer because it is usually a case of inadequate training. However, he added that more officers are being held accountable because of body camera footage.
“The reason you always typically hear is that the officer was in fear for their safety. However there has never been a single documented case of a police officer being killed in a dog attack,” Green said.
Inadequate training was one of the things that Hunter cited in his lawsuit.
“We had Dr. James Crosby, who is the one who authored the U.S Department of Justices manual on law enforcement training for animal encounters and when he watched the footage he said it might be the single least justifiable shooting of a dog in his 30-plus year of law enforcement,” Green said.
