Fired trooper reported Ricoh was a smart dog

During a three-day hearing in April, one trooper after another talked about a hard-headed, "alpha male" police canine named Ricoh. They didn't paint him as a best friend.

The troopers said the dog was so stubborn his handler was justified in nearly suspending Ricoh by his lead and kicking him five times after a frustrating training session. The troopers all said that Ricoh's handler, Sgt. Charles L. Jones, should keep his job.

Ricoh, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, couldn't speak in his defense. But unbeknownst to state attorneys who sought to uphold Jones' dismissal, someone had repeatedly sung Ricoh's praises.

Jones himself.

In reports of more than 240 training sessions leading up to the now infamous kicking incident, which was caught on video, Jones issued one positive report after another.

During those 18 months, the reports show that Ricoh obeyed voice commands and hand signals, found illegal drugs stashed in cars and buildings, or passed by those that were clean. He was praised, rewarded or both nearly every time.

"Ricoh was utilized for an obedience exercise," Jones wrote in one report on June 11, 2007. "Ricoh did well following all voice and hand commands. Ricoh was rewarded and praised."

This is a dog, Jones testified, that was so difficult to train that he used a shock collar on him until the patrol banned them. Jones said he had requested Ricoh be taken out of service.

Jones, a 12-year veteran of the patrol, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Jack O'Hale of Smithfield, said he was unaware that the reports existed, but they should not outweigh the testimony of Jones and his colleagues.

"I don't think you'd find 14 or 15 guys to get together and lie under oath," O'Hale said.

He later faxed a statement saying that "Jones was trained by the NC Highway Patrol on how to handle his canine and was likewise trained by the Highway Patrol how to complete his canine records. All of these records were submitted to and approved by the Highway Patrol canine supervisors."

The Highway Patrol did not turn the reports over to O'Hale or the Attorney General's Office. The News & Observer obtained them through a records request that specified training and injury records.

Important discrepancy

The discrepancy between the reports and the testimony is significant because the incident prompted a criminal investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has yet to say whether he plans to charge Jones.

Ashby T. Ray, one of the two assistant attorney generals who represented the patrol at the hearing, referred all questions to a department spokeswoman, Noelle Talley. She said in a statement that the department is now requesting the records from the patrol.

"Our attorneys presented the strongest case possible using the information made available to them," Talley said. "The records you asked about were not among those originally provided to us, and we're now working on getting them."

Capt. Everett Clendenin, a patrol spokesman, could not explain why the records surfaced only after the hearing. Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. said in a statement they give him no reason to change the patrol's decision to fire Jones.

"His mistreatment of his canine was unacceptable," said Wilson, who became commander in July.

Sniffing out drugs

The patrol's canine unit has had 11 dogs in use over the past eight years. The dogs have sniffed out millions of dollars' worth of drugs and currency with noses so sensitive that one dog found packaged cocaine floating in a gas tank. Ricoh alone helped find a combined $10 million in drugs and cash, Jones testified.