TROOPER ACCUSED OF DOG ABUSE

Internal Affairs Got Cell-Phone Video

The state Highway Patrol stripped one of its canine handlers of his
badge and dog Friday while officials investigate an animal abuse
complaint against him, a spokesman said.

Sgt. Charles L. Jones, a 12-year veteran of the patrol, has been under
scrutiny by internal affairs investigators since a training exercise
in Raleigh in early August. A fellow patrolman recorded Jones'
treatment of Ricoh, a Belgian Malinois, with his cell-phone video
camera. The patrolman turned the video over to internal affairs
investigators. On Friday, weeks after the incident, Brian Beatty, the
state Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, asked agents at
the State Bureau of Investigation to determine whether Jones broke the
law. It is a felony to abuse a law enforcement animal.

"We expect our troopers to treat their canines ethically," said Lt.
Everett Clendenin, spokesman for the patrol. "After all, that's their
partner." Jones, who was placed on investigative leave, declined to
comment Friday and referred questions to Clendenin. Other patrolmen
who attended the training exercise did not return calls for comment
this week. The patrol has refused to release the short video clip
capturing Jones' behavior, citing personnel privacy laws. It has also
declined to provide an account of the incident.

Sources inside the patrol who have watched the video say it captures
Jones abusing the dog.

Ricoh was not seen by a veterinarian after the training exercise and
remained on active duty with Jones until Friday, Clendenin said.
Ricoh, whose breed resembles the German shepherd, lived with Jones at
his Wake County home.

The dog has been turned over to another trooper until the
investigation is completed, Clendenin said. Ricoh will be housed at a
kennel at the patrol's training academy in Raleigh for the time being.

Jones and Ricoh have worked the highways and interstates of Wake and
surrounding counties to sniff out illegal drugs as part of the
patrol's interdiction team, Clendenin said. Jones also coordinates
training exercises for the patrol's nine other troopers who work with
dogs. Jones was appointed to that position earlier this year and
currently earns an annual salary of $60,295, according to the patrol.

Jones will continue to collect his pay until the patrol's internal
affairs unit completes its investigation. He cannot, however, come to
work or have access to Ricoh.

Jones' wife, Angela Jones, is the administrative assistant to Col.
Fletcher Clay, commander of the state Highway Patrol, according to
public records. Clay has removed himself from the investigation and
appointed Maj. Jamie Hatcher to determine whether and how Jones will
be disciplined.