Officer on paid leave for shooting dog is actively policing
A small group of Sturgeon residents appeared Monday night at both the Sturgeon and Hallsville board of alderman meetings. They wanted to voice their frustrations with the ongoing investigation regarding an officer that shot and killed a blind and deaf dog.
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HALLSVILLE, Missouri (KOMU) — A small group of Sturgeon residents appeared Monday night at both the Sturgeon and Hallsville board of alderman meetings. They wanted to voice their frustrations with the ongoing investigation regarding an officer that shot and killed a blind and deaf dog.
Officer Myron Woodson is employed by both the Sturgeon and Hallsville police department. Initially, the city of Sturgeon defended officer Woodson in a Facebook post, stating that he “acted within his authority” when shooting and killing the dog. Since, the Sturgeon community has expressed a call for the removal of Officer Woodson.
In May, the Sturgeon Board of Alderman revealed an administrative investigation was underway, concerning Officer Woodson. The City of Sturgeon announced that the investigation will be conducted by a third party that is still unknown at this time. Officer Woodson is currently on paid administrative leave in the city of Sturgeon.
At the board of alderman meeting in Hallsville Monday night, Hallsville Police Chief Bryan Shultz revealed that officer Woodson responded and aided the department in recent calls, including at a recent standoff with an armed suspect in Sturgeon.
“To the incident that occurred earlier this month, I just want to commend officer Woodson and officer Ketchum,” Chief Shultz said. “Both officers took close cover positions while wearing just street body armor, and stayed in position until more heavily armored cops appeared.”
During public comment in Hallsville, Gina Adams-Miller, a member from the Sturgeon community, expressed her concern for Hallsville with Officer Woodson still patrolling the city.
“I feel for the citizens of Hallsville. If he’s doing anything to y’all like he’s done to us, I hope you’re on your guard because he’s a danger. He’s a very dangerous man.”
According to previous KOMU 8 reporting, officer Woodson and the city of Sturgeon are facing a federal lawsuit filed on the behalf of the dog’s owner, Nicholas Hunter. The lawsuit alleges that the city and officer Woodson violated Hunter’s Fourth Amendment rights.
A petition calling for Woodson to be removed from his position now has at least 64,000 signatures.
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