PINE BLUFF -- A police officer's shooting of what he believed to be a feral pig last month led the Pine Bluff City Council to take animal control duties away from the Police Department on Monday night.
The council voted 5-3 to restore the duties of the city's Animal Control Department.
Sgt. Brad Vilches, director for the animal control division under the police, responded last month to several reports of wild hogs in the Jefferson Industrial Park area. Vilches found a pig, which had no identification tag on its ear, in a residential area and shot it, Police Chief Jeff Hubanks said.
Carrie Walthall, a Pine Bluff store owner, said she was about to go and pick the pig up in her car when she received a hysterical phone call from a friend who said the police officer had shot the pig from his vehicle. Walthall described the pig as small and as a pet and said it had responded in a way that indicated it was someone's pet.
Alderman Glen Brown Sr., whose passionate prose dominated much of Pine Bluff council meeting, said it seemed appalling that Vilches could shoot a pig thought to be a pet from his vehicle while others would be punished for striking an animal.
"If you beat a dog with a stick, and someone saw you, they would call the police and have you arrested," Brown said. "Shooting a pig from a car seems to show a bad mind."
But Alderman Bill Brumett defended the police officer for his actions and said he did not think many on the council understood the type of gun used, an AR-15 rifle, or why that was a smart weapon for this situation. He also recommended that City Council members ride along with animal-control officers to get a better idea of what the job entails, including the thankless job of having to euthanize thousands of animals no one is willing to care for.
"I do not see where there has been any logical analysis for making the move as far as costs, efficiency, improving service, care of animals, handling complaints and any other issues," Brumett said reading from a prepared statement. "It comes down to per the editor of [The Pine Bluff Commercial], spite and a knee jerk reaction to killing a feral hog."
Mayor Debe Hollingsworth told council members that she had researched the subject and had come to the conclusion that the officer handled the situation correctly. Hollingsworth said feral pigs often carry rabies and parasites, making them dangerous animals to handle, thus making those who can handle them fairly limited to veterinarians and hunters who have licenses to hunt them.
Animal control was its own department until June 2013 when a city ordinance placed it under the direction of the police chief. Two police officers, including Vilches, work in the animal-control division.
The ordinance gives the mayor the power to select the new department's director and states that existing division employees will staff the new department, while police officers assigned to animal control will work exclusively for the Police Department.
Alderman Thelma Walker sponsored the proposed ordinance along with Alderman Steven Mays.
State Desk on 06/21/2016