Tulsa fire captain resigns after animal cruelty charge
BY DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Friday, April 27, 2012
A Tulsa Fire Department captain resigned Friday, a day after being charged with animal cruelty on an allegation that he fatally shot a neighbor’s dog.
Randy C. Shipman submitted his resignation about 3 p.m. Friday, TFD spokesman Stan May said.
May said Shipman was placed on administrative leave on April 9 after the department was informed “of his possible involvement in an off-duty incident in Broken Arrow.”
The felony charge filed Thursday in Tulsa County District Court alleges that Shipman used a BB gun to shoot a boxer in Broken Arrow on April 1.
Shipman, 48, was an 18-year employee of the Tulsa Fire Department. When questioned by a Broken Arrow police officer, Shipman said that “he had issues with the dog barking” and being aggressive in the past, according to a police affidavit.
He told police that he shot a pellet gun toward the dog in an effort to stop it from barking, an affidavit by Broken Arrow Police Detective Aaron Wylie states.
Shipman handed a police officer the gun that he used to shoot at the dog, the affidavit indicates.
Tony Reeves, identified as the dog’s owner, told police that shortly after his dog came in his home in the 1300 block of West Honolulu Place on April 1, it died.
He then found a hole in the dog’s side and took its body to a veterinary clinic, where a pellet was removed from the dog’s heart region, the affidavit states.
Evidence was found that five pellets were still in the dog’s body, according to Wylie’s affidavit.
May said the department would have no further comment on Friday.
Associated Images:
Randy C. Shipman, a Tulsa Fire Department captain being charged with animal cruelty, submitted his resignation about 3 p.m. Friday. Courtesy
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