WCSO...What's next?

[John G]

Since the topic / title of this post is WCSO...whats next, I figured I'd chime in.

Looks as if the Sheriff and Co., may be getting ready to loose their big "dog fighting" case that was so overly publicied in the local media.
Seems as if things may not have been what WCSO "said" they were...

Look for this possible failure to be a black eye on the administration as it was so heavily publicied and garnered media attention.

A new media target will need to be created to "show" everyone how great Mike is and why you should vote for him in 2016. There are many good men and women that work at WCSO. I do not like the way the Sheriff uses the media to spin stories in his favor, when the reality tells a very different story, AFTER the 15 minutes of fame has escaped everyone's minds.

 

[Mike Jones]

Since the topic / title of this post is WCSO...whats next, I figured I'd chime in.

Looks as if the Sheriff and Co., may be getting ready to loose their big "dog fighting" case that was so overly publicied in the local media.
Seems as if things may not have been what WCSO "said" they were...

Look for this possible failure to be a black eye on the administration as it was so heavily publicied and garnered media attention.

A new media target will need to be created to "show" everyone how great Mike is and why you should vote for him in 2016. There are many good men and women that work at WCSO. I do not like the way the Sheriff uses the media to spin stories in his favor, when the reality tells a very different story, AFTER the 15 minutes of fame has escaped everyone's minds.

Have no idea what you're talking about but since it seems to be your sole mission to bash the sheriff on this forum I'm sure you'll come across with much more. Your vendetta is getting very tiring.

 

[Misty]

I don't know anything about this case except what I have seen or read on the internet or in the media but I will say this....I love animals. I'm not a fan of pit bulls or any other large dog breed just because of their size but if you are going to own an animal the very least you could do is make sure they have adequate food, water and shelter. I have seen the images of the dogs seized and for the most part the dogs appear to be in good health, some are a little thin and some of the older dogs did appear to have some scaring...whether from fighting them or not I don't know.

There were some other issues also which included drug and child endangerment charges.

For whatever it's worth...anyone who thinks its humane to chain a 10 pound puppy to a chain which could literally pull a loaded semi truck needs their head examined. Anyone who keeps a dog chained 24/7 is in my opinion an animal abuser.

 

[John G]

Mike Jones, I only look to give you and others the other side of the coin on WCSO topics. I've always qualified my critique of the sheriff by stating he has many good officers working for him.
All is not a rainbows and unicorns, as you may think. But you probably don't care.
I in no way condone dog fighting and I love animals too. However, I do want to point out that when local police use the media to bang their drum about how great they are, they need to make sure all is such, prior to the drum banging. I'll remind some of you that remember about the Walton Academy Principal Case. That was a cover up, simple as that. When the incident was no longer fresh on the minds of most, here comes the media press release about the hero that saved the driver. Nothing about the DUI and how innocent lives could have been ended...
The Freeport dog fighting case is an example where the sheriff and his media cohorts have already prejudged the accused in the local papers. Remember the photograph of a woman handcuffed in a lawn chair? And, yes, those photos of puppies on large chain leashes... While I do not condone the chains, that sounds more like "abuse" as opposed to all the multiple counts of "dog fighting". Two very different charges, each with different implications.
It is my understanding that the Department of Children and Families have had to or will be giving the child back to the accused. This is due to misinformation that was allegedly used in the paperwork that was presented to a local judge that allowed the WCSO to get a search warrant. It appears that a case of possible animal abused was inflated, by false and misrepresented observations, to become the "First Dog Fighting Arrest in Walton County".
It is not uncommon for law enforcement to load up charges on a target they seek to arrest. The system will usually sort that out through the State Attorney and the Courts.
But using media to sensationalize a case and to adjudicate it in the papers and Facebook is something to be warry of. I feel this case will be one of those instances.

Sort of like the cluster F that the Grand Jury media has been. Its all about the ones that they don't like. Get their names in the paper and the citizens will form their uneducated opines from the Newspapers and other avenues. By the time the truth comes out, most have forgotten the original issue, but the stigma of that initial "accusation" will linger...

 

[Matt J]

Oh John why not move?

 

[Misty]

Possible animal abuse? Really? The preponderance of evidence, the photo's and the living conditions of those animals strongly suggest to most normal people that those animals were absolutely being abused. Were they being fought? Again, I don't know because I didn't see the online videos of those dogs fighting that were reported to the Sheriff which helped secure a warrant. Is it possible the dogs were actually fighting? Again, the preponderance of evidence (IE) chaining those animals 24/7, inadequate food and water and their overall living conditions contribute substantially to aggressive behavior in any animal and yes they will fight for survival. They will fight for food, they will fight for water and they will bite the hand that feeds them in order to survive. If Ms. Greene and Mr. Bramlet are guilty of nothing else they are guilty of abusing those animals! Those animals needed to be seized and they should never, ever be allowed to own another animal. Even a rat being fed to a snake is treated better than those dogs were being treated.

The fact a child was involved makes it even more horrific. Pit bulls historically have poor eyesight and do not see well close up. If a child goes near those dogs with a bag of cheetos (or any food item) because of their keen sense of smell and poor eyesight and the conditions that existed that child could very well have become a meal. It's happened. In fact several years ago a child was mauled right here in Defuniak by a pack of pits and his friend was also bitten when he attempted to use a stick to fight off the dogs. The Department of Children and Family Services historically reunite children with their abusers because it's their job to "keep families together" so, its no surprise the child will be returned. Hopefully the dumb a$$es have learned their lesson and have been schooled in the art of parenting.

I can remember back in the day (during Patsy Registers' tenure as the Director of the old Humane Society) that she would actually HOST pit bull pulls at the Walton County Fairgrounds. Anyone who thinks its "normal" for a dog to pull in excess of 5000 pounds or that it isn't a training exercise for fighting, and that it is not abuse, is crazier than a bedbug. Teaching aggressive behavior in dogs is abuse!

You're right though, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to load up charges on a target they seek to arrest. So if those charges result in NOTHING ELSE, it will prevent those dogs from ever being abused again and hopefully it will prevent the owners from ever being allowed to legally own another animal.

I admit there are things about the Sheriffs budget that I don't like in regard to how taxpayer money is spent and I don't like how he panders to media attention but I don't have much to say in regard to how the job gets done. For the most part, I do think he is doing what the citizens expect and in the case of Bramlet & Greene I think he did what most people had the right to expect. The dogs are safe and no longer a threat to this Community. Now if they could just spay/neuter the owners and perhaps a lobotomy...