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FARMINGTON — A Davis County sheriff's deputy is accused of hitting his police K-9 during a training exercise because it peed on the floor.
Timothy William Robinson, 38, of Syracuse, a corporal and K-9 handler with the Davis County Sheriff's Office, was charged Thursday in 2nd District Court with striking or assaulting a police service animal, a class A misdemeanor.
On Aug. 15, Robinson and his service dog, Rolf, were attending a training in Kaysville with other officers.
"During the training, Rolf began to urinate inside a conference room of the building," according to charging documents.
One officer who witnessed what happened told investigators that "Robinson began to pull on Rolf's leash, aggressively pulling the dog out of the room and down the stairs while striking Rolf hard. The officer estimated 5-10 strikes. This officer noted that Rolf was cowering throughout," the charges state.
A second officer said "Robinson gave Rolf a verbal correction and then dragged Rolf out of the room punching Rolf with a closed fist multiple times."
Investigators consulted with a police K-9 training expert who told them hitting a dog is never acceptable as a corrective measure.
"He explained that to strike a dog as a response to urination is unreasonable, even once," according to the charges.
The sheriff's office released a prepared statement Thursday saying as soon as administrators were made aware of what allegedly happened, Rolf was taken to Davis County Animal Care for evaluation and reassigned to another deputy. Robinson, who has been with the department 10 years, was placed on administrative leave and remained on leave as of Thursday.
Sheriff Kelly Sparks says Rolf has been with the department three years.
"We hold our law enforcement officers to a higher standard, and news of this alleged incident has caused much distress to our office and our K-9 program. Our priority right now is to ensure that Rolf is given an opportunity to thrive with a new handler and continue his valued service to Davis County," he said.
