Woodstock Officer Suspended Without Pay After K-9 Death

A Woodstock police officer has been suspended without pay and reassigned after his K-9 passed away last month.

The Woodstock Police Department has suspended Officer Chad Berry without pay for 10 days for violating the agency's policies that outline the responsibilities of canine handlers. 

Berry, a nine-year veteran of the department, has also been removed from the department's K-9 program and once he returns to duty, will be reassigned to the agency's Traffic Enforcement Unit. 

That reassignment will result in the loss of $6,000 in special duty pay for Berry, the police department said in a news release.

On June 17, K-9 Spartacus, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, was found unresponsive in Berry's patrol vehicle at his home in Pickens County. 

A necropsy was performed at the request of the Woodstock Police Department and the cause of death was determined to be heat stroke, the department said in a news release.

"Both investigations reveal that, although there was no intent to cause harm to K-9 Spartacus, Officer Berry left Spartacus in his assigned patrol vehicle upon getting home from work and attending to his children," the department said on Friday. "The delay in removing Spartacus from the vehicle resulted in the canine’s death."

The Pickens County Sheriff's Office conducted its own investigation and cited Berry for violating county ordinance section 14-22, cruelty to animals, subsection (f) for leaving an animal unattended in a parked vehicle without proper ventilation. 

Berry paid the $325 fine, as required by the county's ordinance. 

In February, Spartacus had also been seen for an annual physical exam and vaccines, and was found to be in good health at that time. 

While the department is certified by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and has met or exceeded the 118 model policies and practices, Spartacus's "tragic death" has prompted the agency to review its canine policies and procedures.

That review has resulted in the department implementing additional safeguards "to better protect the health and safety of our police canines."

"Moreover, although all Woodstock Police Department K-9 patrol vehicles are already equipped with heat alarm systems, these systems are being further upgraded to better ensure the well being of our dogs and handler," the department said. 

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