Liberty County animal services investigation closes with no charges after crossbow incident

HINESVILLE, Ga. (WTOC) - A state investigation into Liberty County Animal Services has closed with no criminal charges after an animal control officer used a crossbow on stray dogs last October.

Liberty County Commission Chair Donald Lovette confirmed to WTOC that a Liberty County Animal Services officer used a crossbow during an incident on Paul Caswell Boulevard in October. The Georgia Department of Agriculture launched an investigation, issuing a stop order in February that prevented animal control from taking in strays for more than a month.

The investigation has now closed, but the county signed a consent agreement with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, paid a $2,500 fine, and agreed to invest another $2,500 in required officer training.

Community concerns over incident

Sandra Fry, director of the Liberty Humane Shelter, said she believes years of inaction created the conditions for what happened in October, when a pack of stray dogs prompted the Hinesville Police Department to call animal control.

“If animal control would have been doing what they should have six, eight months ago, they would not have become such a big aggressive pack,” Fry said.

Fry said her main concern is how the incident was handled.

“One of my main concerns is not what happened with the pit bulldogs — it’s how it happened. Use of crossbows for domestic animals is illegal in the state of Georgia,” Fry said.

Questions about accountability

Veterinarian Rachel Peeples said she has questions about accountability.

“If you’re willing to pick up a crossbow and kill an animal instead of other choices you could have had at the moment, then what other choices are you making that the public doesn’t know about?” Peeples said.

Staff at Liberty County Animal Services said they were not authorized to speak. WTOC is waiting on response from the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Liberty County Animal Services Director Steve Marrero.