An animal control officer for Canton and Madison County has been fired amid accusations he shot numerous dogs and cats and dumped their carcasses in a creek in Canton.
Canton Police Chief Vickie McNeill would not confirm the number of carcasses and suspected manner of death.
"I will not discuss any specifics, but we have some animals that are dead," McNeill said Wednesday.
Alonzo Esco has been accused of mishandling animals, McNeill said. Esco served as a shared animal control officer for Canton and the county for three years. His salary was not immediately available.
Esco could not be reached for comment.
The Canton Police Department investigation is complete, and the findings have been turned over to the Madison/Rankin district attorney's office, McNeill said. Officials there would not discuss the case other than to say Esco has not been indicted.
McNeill said a citizen's complaint made with the Madison County Sheriff's Department led to the firing, which the Board of Aldermen approved Tuesday.
A woman filed the complaint after a pet she wanted to adopt never turned up at the Mississippi Animal Rescue League. The Sheriff's Department then forwarded the complaint to Canton police, McNeill said.
"That led us to conduct an investigation when the animal wasn't there," she said.
Debra Boswell, director of MARL, said if the allegations against Esco are true, "I'm extremely disappointed and certainly saddened for the animals that their end was met this way."
Boswell said Esco was doing a good job when he started out bringing the Rescue League animals.
If he was doing what he's accused of, Boswell said, "It's a blemish on the animal control officers who have worked so hard to professionalize what they do."
"I don't know why he would select that method of disposal," she said.
"Healthy animals are put down in shelters every day," Boswell said. "While the results may be the same (as killing them outside a shelter), it's how you get there."
Robbie Wilbur, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency has received no complaints about the dumping of carcasses in Canton and has no investigation pending.
Wilbur would not address the allegations against Esco. But he said dumping animal remains into the water could cause "public health issues."
The creek has since been cleaned up, McNeill said.
No comments:
Post a Comment