Would you work with this guy ?

[HCM]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/retired-police-dog-rescued-from-animal-shelter-as-his-handler-gets-demotion

Retired Mississippi police dog rescued from animal shelter as handler gets demotion


A Mississippi cop has been demoted from the K9 unit to patrol duty after taking his retired four-legged partner to an animal shelter to be put up for adoption.

Ringo sniffed out drugs for the Jackson Police Department for nine years until the dog's retirement this past October. Nevertheless, the Labrador retriever had to be rescued recently from the Webster Animal Shelter in nearby Madison, Miss., by the man who trained him to be a police dog, WLBT-TV reported Friday.


I don’t know that there is a word for being both hurt and mad, but I was both of them. And I still am," Randy Hare, owner of the Alpha Canine Training Center, told the station. "You know it’s just, you just don’t turn your back on something like that--that’s been with you for nine years.”

Jackson police officials said they didn’t know Ringo’s handler, Carl Ellis, had taken the canine to a shelter, the Clarion-Ledger reported.

Ringo.

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The former handler, Carl Ellis
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Would you want to work the street with Officer Ellis ?

[Totem Polar]

I hope he’s not expecting anyone to have his back when something goes sideways, off the job...

[willie]

Having grown up within 80 miles of Jackson and having kept up with the city, I'm not surprised.

[Rangers13]

He is a piece of shit and should be on a foot post the rest of his career.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blues]

That's beyond sad.

[SD]

I'm very happy for Ringo, hopefully soon to be in a long term loving household. How much love was he receiving living with this former Handler/Partner? Wonder how many times this K-9 requested a different partner? Woof-woof woof woof ... woof, "Hey Sarg I need a new partner, this lazy-ass, no good *bleeper* ain't worth riding with".

[HCM]

I'm very happy for Ringo, hopefully soon to be in a long term loving household. How much love was he receiving living with this former Handler/Partner? Wonder how many times this K-9 requested a different partner? Woof-woof woof woof ... woof, "Hey Sarg I need a new partner, this lazy-ass, no good *bleeper* ain't worth riding with".

My suspicion is this officer requested K9 for premium pay and/or a take home car. It does raises the question of how well Ringo was treated and cared for.

[Lester Polfus]

I really don't understand this. At my old agency, if this dude had sent an email out that said "Hey guys, my life situation has changed and I can't give Ringo the care he deserves," he would have gotten Ringo a new home in a matter of minutes, especially since he's a detection dog, and would be less of a handful than a former patrol dog.

Shitbird.

[SeriousStudent]

I'll take Ringo. You can hang onto that other fellow.

[1slow]

Ellis should get a Blue Falcon award.

[GuanoLoco]

You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dog.

[Drang]

You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats the taxpayers' dog.
Any dog, really, but still...

[Leroy Suggs]

That miserable pos needs to made to eat dog turds every day.

[BigDaddy]

He is a piece of shit and should be on a foot post the rest of his career.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not good enough. Most of the time a foot post is a gravy job.

[HCM]

Even the Grinch had a dog....

33333

[willie]

That miserable pos needs to made to eat dog turds every day.

Cat turds would be better. This man turned his back on his best friend. Our dogs were our children in one sense, and I can't understand this behavior. If he would run out on his canine partner, he would desert his human partner. That's a given.

[Duke]

My suspicion is this officer requested K9 for premium pay and/or a take home car. It does raises the question of how well Ringo was treated and cared for.

Sure. And I know no one here has ever made a choice at work for more money or benefits despite our hearts not being in the decision.

Seriously though. This officer has a pregnant wife and a toddler and he’s never home due to his shit work schedule. Wife is tired of cleaning up the aging dogs messes and she demanded he make a choice.

Can’t go to work and say he hates the dog. He’s got a family to feed. Makes the least worst choice - someone at the shelter who hates the police calls the news and here we are. Being told how to feel about it despite it having no bearing on our lives at all.

In fact if he’d have just starved, beaten or neglected the animal to death we’d have never heard about it.

Actually I have no idea what his reason was for doing this and neither do any of you.



I don’t happen to agree with the choice that was made here - if it happened the way the news said so. But there it is....


We all want the freedom to shoot a violent attacker in an abandoned ally and expect no questions asked because it’s our right to defend ourselves and we’re the good guys if you don’t believe me you’re an intolerant liberal.


He crossed a moral line abandoning his partner. Okay. I get it. None of us here have ever made a bad choice that looks really bad from the outside.

But Somewhere out there thousands of people hate you because you cross their moral line of carrying a gun and training kill people.

I’m certain I’ll get flamed over this. I don’t support what this guy did - if - It happened just like the news says.

But again....we cant know that. By reacting to this by design type of news we are what we say we oppose the most

[Hambo]

By reacting to this by design type of news

You mean we're being manipulated? Say it isn't so. Nothing fires up an emotional response like dog or cop stories.

The rational question is if Ringo had been just a family pet and not a police dog, would anyone notice or care? Of course not. If he really couldn't care for the dog a notice in his department or a rescue agency would have been better options.

[Duke]

If he really couldn't care for the dog a notice in his department or a rescue agency would have been better options.

I agree completely.


It’s just really easy to make a best choice when someone else has already made the worst one

[GuanoLoco]

When you accept an animal into your house and life, you accept responsibility for it ... for life. If you can’t handle it for whatever, you find a new home for it. In extremis, for example that it wouldn’t be safe to re-home the animal, man the fuck up, go to the vet, and put the animal down ethically. That’s how I look at the world, and trust me, I’ve put some serious time, energy, money and life impact into concrete examples of that point of view - less prematurely putting an animal down.

This dude took an aging, retired K9, not just any dog that would also deserve respect, to the pound and dumped it because it was no longer convenient or whatever. Why? I readlly dont’ care. The likely outcome, absent knowledge of the dog’s past, wasn’t adoption, it was the needle and he was just sparing himself from making that decision directly.

If he and I were friends, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be interested in being friends any more.

And to anwer the question, no, I wouldn’t want to work with him either.

[SD]

Please keep in mind Dog is GOD spelled backwards. Because of this I treat my dog's like they are royalty. It maybe my only chance of making it.

[HCM]

Sure. And I know no one here has ever made a choice at work for more money or benefits despite our hearts not being in the decision.

Seriously though. This officer has a pregnant wife and a toddler and he’s never home due to his shit work schedule. Wife is tired of cleaning up the aging dogs messes and she demanded he make a choice.

Can’t go to work and say he hates the dog. He’s got a family to feed. Makes the least worst choice - someone at the shelter who hates the police calls the news and here we are. Being told how to feel about it despite it having no bearing on our lives at all.

In fact if he’d have just starved, beaten or neglected the animal to death we’d have never heard about it.

Actually I have no idea what his reason was for doing this and neither do any of you.



I don’t happen to agree with the choice that was made here - if it happened the way the news said so. But there it is....


We all want the freedom to shoot a violent attacker in an abandoned ally and expect no questions asked because it’s our right to defend ourselves and we’re the good guys if you don’t believe me you’re an intolerant liberal.


He crossed a moral line abandoning his partner. Okay. I get it. None of us here have ever made a bad choice that looks really bad from the outside.

But Somewhere out there thousands of people hate you because you cross their moral line of carrying a gun and training kill people.

I’m certain I’ll get flamed over this. I don’t support what this guy did - if - It happened just like the news says.

But again....we cant know that. By reacting to this by design type of news we are what we say we oppose the most

I have, unfortunately seen and worked with LEOs who would do exactly what this news said this guy did and think nothing of it, until they got caught. I didn’t post this because it is unimaginable, I posted it because I could easily name four or five LEOs who would do the same thing this POS did for the same self serving reasons I posted. It’s not a mystery.

[HCM]

https://youtu.be/l9k9_K8Tea0

[Drang]

EDIT: I missed the fact on my first read that the dog was, in fact, retired from active duty, so to speak.
He's still a POS, but it mitigates, a bit, the "selling the taxpayers' property and his partner" thing.
A bit.

[El Cid]

Sure. And I know no one here has ever made a choice at work for more money or benefits despite our hearts not being in the decision.

Seriously though. This officer has a pregnant wife and a toddler and he’s never home due to his shit work schedule. Wife is tired of cleaning up the aging dogs messes and she demanded he make a choice.

Can’t go to work and say he hates the dog. He’s got a family to feed. Makes the least worst choice - someone at the shelter who hates the police calls the news and here we are. Being told how to feel about it despite it having no bearing on our lives at all.

In fact if he’d have just starved, beaten or neglected the animal to death we’d have never heard about it.

Actually I have no idea what his reason was for doing this and neither do any of you.



I don’t happen to agree with the choice that was made here - if it happened the way the news said so. But there it is....


We all want the freedom to shoot a violent attacker in an abandoned ally and expect no questions asked because it’s our right to defend ourselves and we’re the good guys if you don’t believe me you’re an intolerant liberal.


He crossed a moral line abandoning his partner. Okay. I get it. None of us here have ever made a bad choice that looks really bad from the outside.

But Somewhere out there thousands of people hate you because you cross their moral line of carrying a gun and training kill people.

I’m certain I’ll get flamed over this. I don’t support what this guy did - if - It happened just like the news says.

But again....we cant know that. By reacting to this by design type of news we are what we say we oppose the most

He’s pathetic. I don’t care about his family problems. He chose poorly. He did not choose the “least worst” option. That would’ve been finding it another home. Giving away a dog because it’s old and inconvenient is cowardly bull$hit but if you’re gonna turn the dogs life upside down after it’s been loyal to you, at least find a loving home. He left it at an animal shelter. That’s gross poor judgement and indicative of an inability to make sound decisions. People who won’t love and care for a pet to the end shouldn’t have a pet. He is an example of what’s wrong with the human race.

[Rangers13]

Not good enough. Most of the time a foot post is a gravy job.

Not where I worked.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Duke]

He’s pathetic. I don’t care about his family problems. He chose poorly. He did not choose the “least worst” option. That would’ve been finding it another home. Giving away a dog because it’s old and inconvenient is cowardly bull$hit but if you’re gonna turn the dogs life upside down after it’s been loyal to you, at least find a loving home. He left it at an animal shelter. That’s gross poor judgement and indicative of an inability to make sound decisions. People who won’t love and care for a pet to the end shouldn’t have a pet. He is an example of what’s wrong with the human race.

Man you know I’m with you.


But.


Lots of guys are pointing out the lifelong promise, till death do us part and all.... some guys saying they wouldn’t want to be friends with someone anymore that broke that promise.


And I get it. That kind of choice speaks to who one really is.


But how many of us have divorced friends? Or are divorced ourselfs. Think of then havoc that places on the kids.
To that end how about just the folks who’ve cheated on their spouse with kids involved. Surely that’s cowardly right ?
A kid never forgets or understands the situation.

Why is it worse when it’s a dog instead of a kid ? Or worse when it’s a promise to an animal rather than another human ?

[GuanoLoco]

Man you know I’m with you.


But.


Lots of guys are pointing out the lifelong promise, till death do us part and all.... some guys saying they wouldn’t want to be friends with someone anymore that broke that promise.


And I get it. That kind of choice speaks to who one really is.


But how many of us have divorced friends? Or are divorced ourselfs. Think of then havoc that places on the kids.
To that end how about just the folks who’ve cheated on their spouse with kids involved. Surely that’s cowardly right ?
A kid never forgets or understands the situation.

Why is it worse when it’s a dog instead of a kid ? Or worse when it’s a promise to an animal rather than another human ?

Because a dog, especially an aging one, is truly a dependent. Humans don’t get the needle when you walk.

Once this man trusted his K9, potentially with his life, yet he didn’t have the decency to reciprocate, even with re-homing, because inconvenient.

Yea I’m a hard-ass on this issue. I can live with that.

[Cheap Shot]

Man you know I’m with you.


But.


Lots of guys are pointing out the lifelong promise, till death do us part and all.... some guys saying they wouldn’t want to be friends with someone anymore that broke that promise.


And I get it. That kind of choice speaks to who one really is.


But how many of us have divorced friends? Or are divorced ourselfs. Think of then havoc that places on the kids.
To that end how about just the folks who’ve cheated on their spouse with kids involved. Surely that’s cowardly right ?
A kid never forgets or understands the situation.

Why is it worse when it’s a dog instead of a kid ? Or worse when it’s a promise to an animal rather than another human ?

Wait, you mean dropping my ex off at the shelter was an option! That would have saved a lot of money and aggravation......

[El Cid]

Man you know I’m with you.


But.


Lots of guys are pointing out the lifelong promise, till death do us part and all.... some guys saying they wouldn’t want to be friends with someone anymore that broke that promise.


And I get it. That kind of choice speaks to who one really is.


But how many of us have divorced friends? Or are divorced ourselfs. Think of then havoc that places on the kids.
To that end how about just the folks who’ve cheated on their spouse with kids involved. Surely that’s cowardly right ?
A kid never forgets or understands the situation.

Why is it worse when it’s a dog instead of a kid ? Or worse when it’s a promise to an animal rather than another human ?

Guano covered it. And with most pets it’s a life long commitment for the pet - not the owner. Dogs and cats rarely live past 10-15 years depending on breed.

[SeriousStudent]

Wait, you mean dropping my ex off at the shelter was an option! That would have saved a lot of money and aggravation......

I tried that, and got denied on multiple grounds.

She wasn't chipped, didn't have all her shots, and never played well with the other residents. :(

[KeeFus]

My suspicion is this officer requested K9 for premium pay and/or a take home car. It does raises the question of how well Ringo was treated and cared for.

^^^Truth

I'm sure most of y'all know this already...but people become cops for more than the adventure and adrenaline rush :rolleyes:. Its always the perks, right?

There are assholes like this in every agency, including my own. They want the money or whatever perk and that's it. They'll bitch about getting a low evaluation but do nothing to earn a better one...then some how get into a position like this that offers a little more pay.

[Joe in PNG]

^^^Truth

I'm sure most of y'all know this already...but people become cops for more than the adventure and adrenaline rush :rolleyes:. Its always the perks, right?

There are assholes like this in every agency, including my own. They want the money or whatever perk and that's it. They'll bitch about getting a low evaluation but do nothing to earn a better one...then some how get into a position like this that offers a little more pay.

A lot of incompetent people are surprisingly good at lying about their abilities & accomplishments, and brilliant at kissing ass.

[Chuck Whitlock]

But how many of us have divorced friends? Or are divorced ourselfs. Think of then havoc that places on the kids.
To that end how about just the folks who’ve cheated on their spouse with kids involved. Surely that’s cowardly right ?
A kid never forgets or understands the situation.

You're painting with a broad brush. My wife and I have ex-spouses, and our six (Brady Bunch kind of thing) now grown kids are well adjusted, productive members of society. They are aware of the ...issues...that their other bio-parent had/has, and deal with them accordingly.

[CraigS]

While Duke has some valid points, mostly about whether we have the full story or not, that man would no longer be my friend and I'd do all I could not to have to work w/ him. Over the years we have had several gut wrenching situations where we took care of our pet until the end. It would have been a lot easier to give them the needle 3-6 months before we did. It was really hard to do but it was the right thing to do.

[LockedBreech]

This makes me unreasonably angry.

I am good friends with a few of the K9 officers here. They treat their dogs like family. My favorite is a gigantic Mali named Duke, who used to frighten me until I was a bit tipsy on my friend's couch, falling asleep, and he came over and rested his giant bear head on my chest and took a nap with me. Duke is 8, has a bad back and some medical issues.

He also lives with his current, younger K-9, and when Duke and the younger K-9 got into a bad spat over dominance or food, Duke got the corner of his ear bitten off. My friend didn't abandon either of them, even then. He continued strict training and discipline of the young dog to prevent future incidents, and insured they had separate sleep and food areas and don't interact much.

Duke was a fierce pursuit and detain K-9. He detected but mostly chased. He is now a big sweetheart and very happy to be home.

Another friend has his K-9 unit, another big fierce Mali, live with his labradors, who serve to keep the Mali in more mellow spirits since they're perfectly content to let him be alpha dog.

He could have called a fellow officer, or a friend. If he had to abandon the dog for some legitimate reason, he could have ensured that dog had a loving, safe home where he'd get to visit occasionally. Instead he just...discarded the most loyal, loving creature on earth who had spent the equivalent of 60+ years of his life with him.

Excuse me while I go punch something.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Excuse me, but did anyone post this? Officer was demoted. Just saw it today:

https://www.policeone.com/k-9/articles/482381006-Officer-demoted-after-giving-retired-K-9-to-animal-shelter/?NewsletterID=550598&utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Feature3Title&utm_campaign=P1Weekend&cub_id=%5Bcub_id%5D

[X-Phile336]

I guess I’m missing something on this. At my agency, once the dog retires to the handler, it becomes his property to deal with in its entirety, including any and all food, shelter and medical costs. Kind of a ‘if it’s not on our payroll, it’s not our problem anymore’ thing. What did this animal do to deserve all the accolades and make his agency gloss over the fact it was someone else’s personal liability to deal with? Like I said though, unless I’m missing something. Are the taxpayers there are still paying for its food and medical and he’s defrauding that agency?

[willie]

X, the officer dumped his best friend in a facility that could not or might not have his interests at heart. Did the pup end up in a kill facility? Where would he go next? I used to live in Jackson. Ole Miss has a med school and a well known phsiology graduate school there. Both acquire and use shelter dogs in physiology classes and in research. Then they are euthanized. Most here think that the officer should have taken time to have found his dog a good home.

[X-Phile336]

I get that, and, like somebody already said, how hard would it have been for him to send out a department-wide email first asking if anyone wanted to adopt it. My thing is, under what basis does the agency have the authority to demote him based on how he handled his own private property? Admittedly, I don’t have enough information on this particular situation for a full understanding, but I would hope there was a specific policy regarding how agency K-9’s are dealt with post-retirement, or there was a contractual agreement in place, or the agency was still paying for the K-9's food and medicals. If not, it seems as if they may have placed themselves in a potentially actionable position through an emotionally based reaction regarding individual property rights.

[HCM]

I guess I’m missing something on this. At my agency, once the dog retires to the handler, it becomes his property to deal with in its entirety, including any and all food, shelter and medical costs. Kind of a ‘if it’s not on our payroll, it’s not our problem anymore’ thing. What did this animal do to deserve all the accolades and make his agency gloss over the fact it was someone else’s personal liability to deal with? Like I said though, unless I’m missing something. Are the taxpayers there are still paying for its food and medical and he’s defrauding that agency?

You are very much missing something but to those of us that get it you answered your own question.

You said:
once the dog retires to the handler, it becomes his property to deal with in its entirety

You appear to look at the dog like any other piece of property. By the letter of the law you may be correct but you are 100% wrong.

Dogs are sentient creatures, with feelings which bond to their human owners. This bond must be even stronger for a working dog as it is what the dog works for. A working dog is a partner just like any human partner except when the dog retired the dog became the handlers responsibility. This officer met that responsibility by dumping his partner in a shelter as soon as he wasn’t a ticket to free shit. He fucked over his partner. Plain and simple.

What would you think if one of the officers you worked with got shot in the line of duty and while he was in the hospital recovering one of your other shift partners took advantage of the situation to start banging the injured officers wife ? It’s not illegal but it’s still a shitty thing to do and shows your shift partner is a POS and not to be trusted. That I exactly how I view the officer who violated his K9 partners trust.

As far as him being reassigned, actions that are not illegal but make the department look bad are usually referred to as “conduct unbecoming.” Officers get demoted or disciplined for this all the time.

Policing is a “people job.” It requires both IQ and “EQ” or “Emotional Intelligence.” In 22 years of LE I’ve seen a lot of cops who are bad people and have done horrible things. I’ve even had to help arrest one. If you cant see how abandoning a former partner who is now completely dependent on you to a shelter is morally wrong I really have to wonder if you belong in law enforcement.

[X-Phile336]

HCM: A conduct unbecoming for a guy dropping off a (presumably free-and-clear) lawfully and *privately owned* domestic animal to the shelter that he can't or doesn't want to deal with anymore (assuming that’s legally allowed where he lives and he’s not in violation of existing policy)? I’m not an expert, but that sounds like the very definition of arbitrary and capricious disciplinary practices - the bread and butter of labor attorneys. Doubly so if this guy happens to fall within a protected class, such as race or ethnicity.

I will agree this guy could have acted a little more honorably and tried to offload the K-9 to someone else, but regarding department discipline stemming from actions involving private property ownership rights, I'll just have to agree to disagree with you on this. Although, it sounds like we could make a good odd-couple; I’m dead inside and you’re overtly emotional.

[HCM]

HCM: A conduct unbecoming for a guy dropping off a (presumably free-and-clear) lawfully and *privately owned* domestic animal to the shelter that he can't or doesn't want to deal with anymore (assuming that’s legally allowed where he lives and he’s not in violation of existing policy)? I’m not an expert, but that sounds like the very definition of arbitrary and capricious disciplinary practices - the bread and butter of labor attorneys. Doubly so if this guy happens to fall within a protected class, such as race or ethnicity.

I will agree this guy could have acted a little more honorably and tried to offload the K-9 to someone else, but regarding department discipline stemming from actions involving private property ownership rights, I'll just have to agree to disagree with you on this. Although, it sounds like we could make a good odd-couple; I’m dead inside and you’re overtly emotional.

Normal people like dogs. Those people vote and the people they vote for are the ones who provide (or don’t provide) your Department budget.

How many cops have been fired or disciplined for unbecoming social media postings ? Again, not illegal but if it makes the Dept look bad.

Not to mention every defense attorney worth his salt in the Jackson MS area will try and bring up that dog any time the officer in question has to testify. Juries like dogs too.

[X-Phile336]

That is true. My old boss always said you could beat the crap out of your neighbor, just don't kick the dog on your way out. Although, I fail to see how this guy's actions would affect his truth or veracity for testimony purposes.

Regardless, have a Merry Christmas, HCM, and a very safe new year.

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm assuming everyone has had their pound of flesh and I'm not seeing a technical aspect. As such, thread is closed.