Sparta police chief on leave after shooting caged dog so he could respond to a car crash

Sparta's police chief has been placed on administrative leave after he shot a dog he had captured and placed into a crate so that he could respond to a car crash.

Harry Styron, city attorney for the city of Sparta, said that Police Chief Andrew Spencer had been placed on administrative leave as of Tuesday for his actions.

A police report from the Sparta Police Department detailing the events was posted on Facebook by Spencer and later taken down. Styron confirmed the veracity of the report and said he believed the report was "released prematurely," as a police investigation was still taking place at the time.

The report says Spencer was responding to a medical call on the afternoon of Nov. 10 when he was informed of an animal call nearby. The caller had told police a pit bull was loose in the area, barking at people.

Spencer then later responded to the animal call after a second caller said her husband was going to get a gun and shoot the dog, according to the report.

When Spencer and a citizen volunteer arrived on the scene, a man told them he was going to shoot the dog because school was letting out soon, and children would be getting off the bus soon.

Spencer said in the report, "I did not want to destroy the dog if we could help it, and certainly did not want to destroy it in a neighborhood where it was possible children were watching. I also told him discharging a firearm in such close quarters was dangerous as well as illegal."

The report says Spencer eventually obtained a "catcher pole" and crate and forced the dog into the crate. Spencer then called a dog shelter, the report said, which told him that they would not take the dog.

After trying and failing to contact two other shelters, as well as animal control, the report said Spencer decided, from past experience, that no shelters, rescues or animal control within two hours of Sparta would take the dog and that he would need to locate "the cheapest vet to destroy the dog at the cost of the city."

The report then says that while attempting to contact a veterinarian, Spencer was dispatched to a rollover crash at Sparta High School.

"Due to the higher priority call and the imminent destruction of the dog," Spencer writes in the report, "I decided it was best to destroy the dog and respond to the accident."

The report said Spencer then took the dog to the Sparta Police Department's firing range, where he shot it once in the head before responding to the rollover crash.

He later returned and buried the dog, the report said.

On Nov. 13, the report says the owner of the dog, referred to in the report as Toni Womack, called and asked why the animal had been put down. Spencer said he explained to her why he was "forced to destroy the dog."

On Nov. 16, the report said Spencer returned to the burial site of the dog and exhumed the carcass, took photos and left it "pending owner arrival to claim the carcass."

Styron said the city requires loose dogs to be held for five days after they are picked up, and the fact that pit bulls are a prohibited breed in Sparta doesn't change that.

Sparta's Board of Aldermen has its monthly meeting Tuesday night, Styron said, and while they've extended it slightly to allow for public comment on the matter, the agenda has already been set with important business that cannot be postponed.

However, Styron said the Board of Aldermen will likely seek further action and that something may take place within the next two weeks.

While Styron said Spencer is a "fine policeman" and well-liked by the city, he maintained that there weren't dog lovers on one side of this issue, with city government on the other.

"The mayor and the Board of Aldermen are upset too," Styron said. "It's a very sad and unfortunate thing that happened."