GSO probes shooting of pitbull

GONZALES — The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident that involved one of its own deputies shooting a dog at a private residence on July 5, officials say.

Chief Deputy Jeromy Belin released a call card indicating that around 1:45 p.m. July 5, Deputy Ryan Clifton was dispatched to a residence on Harwood Road in reference to a loose horse that needed to be tied up.

The call card  — a log kept by dispatchers that indicates the sequence of events during each call for service — shows that Clifton tied up the horse and tried to contact Michelle Green-Fernandez, who resides at the home with her husband Trent Fernandez. GCSO left a voicemail after no one answered.

During the time Deputy Clifton was there, he reported that he had to “put down one of the dogs.” Meanwhile, GCSO also tried to contact Fernandez, albeit unsuccessfully.

The report said Green-Fernandez later called and informed officers she and her husband were out of town. After they returned home, they discovered the deceased animal.

The call card then notes GCSO then received a call from Fernandez, who requested a supervisor come to the residence. The call card also notes that Fernandez “was very irate and was cursing.”

Green-Fernandez gave an account of the incident, which claims Clifton damaged her husband’s work truck in the process of shooting the dog, and alleges that the shooting was cruel and unnecessary.

“We weren’t home at the time of the shooting,” Green-Fernandez said. “The dispatcher called and said the officer needed to speak to me.”

Green-Fernandez said a blood spray was visible from where the gun was fired, which she claimed was about 20 feet away.

“The dog was shot multiple times; once in the mouth, and it came out of his chest,” she said. “The bullet entered into the leg and shattered it.”

Green-Fernandez said the dog — which was a pit bull/German Shepherd cross — was not an aggressive animal, and would never “come after” a human being.

 “The dog was never aggressive,” she said. “Like any good watchdog, he barks at anyone who comes up, and even alerts us to car accidents.”

Green-Fernandez said GCSO told her Clifton had been on the property before to tie up a horse and had encountered the dog, but that it had never bothered him before.

“He told his supervisor he caught the horse, tied it up and eight minutes later shot the dog,” she said. “The horse was loose again by the time we got home. We have 13 witnesses who can vouch for that.”

Green-Fernandez said she and her husband are looking into getting an attorney to help them if measures they believe necessary are not taken soon.

“[Clifton] shot my husband’s company truck in the process, and we want to be reimbursed,” she noted. “If they fire [Clifton], then we won’t sue.”

Belin said GCSO is conducting an internal investigation and that no further details are available at this time. Clifton remains on active duty during as the investigation continues.