A retired Marietta, Ohio police officer's quest to keep his canine partner was called "unnecessary" and "disingenuous" by the city's police chief Monday afternoon.
Matt Hickey, who retired last month after 30 years with the department, was a member of the K-9 unit since 1998 and was teamed with German Shepherd named Ajax for the past four years.
While officials said that retiring dogs can be sold to their handlers for $1, Ajax was considered to still be of use to the police force. However, without the adequate staffing to build a new bond with the animal, city administrators recommended that Ajax be auction off and valued the animal at $3,500, according to an earlier report by The Marietta Times.
That is when Hickey decided to the raise money on his own. So far, the retired officer has raised more than $65,000 through a GoFundMe account.
The story went viral and was accompanied by support for Hickey and sharp criticism for the police department.
"The outpouring of the response to this is tremendous," he told WTAP-TV. "I cannot say enough and of course I wish I could thank each and every one of them of course and I can't. But hopefully this gets out to them and tells them that we really do appreciate what's going on."
Marietta Police Chief Rodney Hupp said during the press conference that the former officer's interviews with local media outlets were "disingenuous" and there was already a plan in place for Hickey to keep the dog.
Read the Press Release From the Department
Hupp said an agreement between the city and Hickey was reached on Jan. 28 that would allow him to serve as an auxiliary officer so that he could keep Ajax.
"He readily agreed. We both expressed it would be a win-win for everyone, the city, him, the department, and Ajax," Hupp said. "I regarded the matter as being resolved.”
The police chief said that city officials were bound by confidentially agreements and were unable to talk about the issue with the media, but that Hickey took it upon himself to "escalate the situation."
The story gained steam in the press and social media over the weekend. Hupp said that all of the negative attention the city has received could have been avoided.
"You could have stopped this train wreck, simply by saying, 'they’re working on a solution,' " he said.
The bad blood created was evident during the press conference as Hickey shouted at his former boss from the audience, saying "I'm ashamed of you. You should not be responsible, you should have somebody else in that position, it's terrible."
Hupp said that despite all that has transpired, the city will still allow Hickey the chance to serve as an auxiliary officer in order to keep the dog.
"I absolutely am prepared to move beyond this, for your benefit, for Ajax’s benefit, and for the city's benefit," he said.
While it's unclear what will happen to the $65,000 raised to help Hickey keep Ajax, the fund's organizers have previously stated that additional money raised will be used to buy vests for the K-9 unit.
