MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Police Chief Maury Richards announced Monday the department will be moving forward with a new police canine policy as announced last week.
The department’s Belgian Malinois shepherd named Argos will be reassigned to a patrolman when the policy goes into effect May 1 after spending four years with Sgt. Craig Phelps, Richards said.
Under the new department policy, supervisors will no longer be assigned as canine handlers. Richards said the change will improve the quality of police supervision and allow the department to utilize their canine more effectively.
Melonie Phelps, Craig Phelps’ wife, made a tearful plea in a video posted on Facebook that had been viewed thousands of times by Monday afternoon. In the video she pleads for help and claims the k-9 unit is being removed from the streets.
That hasn’t happened, according to Chief Richards, adding the dog is simply being reassigned to an officer who does not also play a supervisory role in the department.
Martinsburg resident Kimberly Kessner-Griffin organized a rally in Martinsburg Monday asking that Phelps and Argos be grandfathered in because it would be unfair to the dog.
“This isn’t about anyone’s feelings. This isn’t about Sgt. Phelps losing his partner. This is about a dog who was purchased to do a job in that department,” Kessner-Griffin told Hans Fogle on “Panhandle Live” on MetroNews affiliate WEPM Radio in Martinsburg.
Kessner-Griffin argues that removing Argos from the Phelp’s family could create emotional distress and decrease the dog’s ability to do its job.
Chief Richards is scheduled to be on “Panhandle Live” Tuesday.