Ricoh spent time with fired trooper
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By Dan Kane
News & Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The state Highway Patrol would like to find a new home for Ricoh, the retired police dog whose punishment for failing to let go of a piece of fire hose became a national outrage.
But patrol officials say they don’t have the legal standing to compel Ricoh’s return from Robert Reaves, the trooper who had been entrusted with his care. In October, Reaves temporarily returned Ricoh to former Sgt. Charles L. Jones, the trooper who had been fired for disciplining the dog by suspending and kicking him.
Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said the attorney general’s office advised the patrol that a contract Reaves signed to take control of Ricoh did not provide an escape clause for the dog’s return in the event that he was given back to Jones. Clendenin said the patrol had asked for Ricoh’s return, but Reaves refused.
“He is the legal owner, guardian, whatever, over Ricoh, and we’ve released all rights, ownership and authority over the canine,” Clendenin said.
The determination raises questions as to whether Reaves could again give Ricoh to Jones. That will again be looked into as a personnel matter, Clendenin said. He declined to say whether Reaves was disciplined for the first occasion.
Reaves, a 13-year member of the patrol, could not be reached for comment.
Six weeks ago, The News & Observer spotted Ricoh at Jones’ home in southern Wake County and notified the patrol, prompting an immediate internal investigation. Reaves told patrol officials that he left the 8-year-old Belgian Malinois with Jones for a month and had planned to get him back.
Patrol officials said they were distraught to learn Ricoh was back with Jones. Last year, during a training exercise, Jones tied Ricoh up to a loading dock so that his hind legs barely touched the ground. Jones then kicked Ricoh five times. Some of the kicks caused the dog to swing underneath the loading dock.
Another trooper testified that he was so startled by what he saw that he recorded it on video with his cell phone. The video drew tens of thousands of views on news Web sites when it became public earlier this year, and Jones’ actions drew national scorn.
Since then an administrative law judge and the State Personnel Commission have determined that Jones should get his job back. They found that the state did not follow proper procedure in dismissing him and that the patrol’s canine training procedures were so vague that it was hard for troopers to know when disciplinary tactics bordered on abuse. There was no evidence that Ricoh was injured.
The case remains under appeal, and criminal animal abuse charges were still being considered against Jones at the time Reaves returned Ricoh to him. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby later decided not to press charges.
‘It’s heartbreaking’
Hope Hancock, SPCA-Wake County executive director, found it absurd that the patrol has no means to get Ricoh back.
“I’m very disappointed, and I’m very suspicious,” she said. “I can’t believe that the contract is so tight that they can’t get the dog out of the clutches of these people. It’s heartbreaking.”
Clendenin said the contract between Reaves and the patrol is a standard one-page document for the placement of canines. The contract allows for the transfer of ownership at no cost. It stipulates that the dog will not be used for police work or for commercial gain and that the new owner “will not subject the canine to neglect or abuse.”
Reaves is also a canine handler, and he testified on behalf of Jones at his personnel hearing in April. That hearing set off more alarms as Reaves and other troopers testified that patrol canines were hung, swung, shocked with stun guns and kicked during training exercises.
The patrol suspended the unit after the testimony and plans a new unit that will perform only drug searches. The new unit, therefore, will not need to use harsh discipline to train the dogs. Reaves and the other handlers will not be asked to join the new unit.
Reaves testified that none of the actions Jones exhibited on the video constituted abuse.
Jones, Reaves testified, “loved the dog to death.”
Copyright 2008 News & Observer