Deputy Fired For Euthanizing Dogs
A Sumner County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired after he was accused of improperly euthanizing strays.
John A. Williams of Portland was assigned to animal control.
A witness complained to the department that Williams didn’t follow protocol for euthanizing animals, which calls for tranquillizing them and then giving them a lethal shot intravenously. Williams was found to have simply injected the lethal drug into the animals’ hearts, according to The Tennessean.
Sheriff Sonny Weatherford says an employee came forward July 12 and told him what had happened. Williams was placed on suspension for two days for an investigation and then dismissed. He didn’t return a phone call to the newspaper seeking comment Thursday.
State law requires that animals be sedated before being lethally injected.
