Dog killer to be dealt another blow for crime

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

A Clark County corrections officer, who already has to work 400 hours in an animal shelter as part of his guilty plea in the November shooting of his neighbor's dog, now faces punishment from Metro Police.

An Internal Affairs investigation ruled John Stroz violated the department's policy in the use of force, standard of conduct and failure to qualify with a backup or off-duty weapon, Officer Steve Meriwether, a Metro spokesman, said Tuesday.

His supervisor will determine what punishment he faces for breaking Metro's policy. The supervisor's decision will go up the chain of command and ultimately be accepted or rejected by Sheriff Jerry Keller, Meriwether said. The decision should come soon, he said, but he did not give a time frame.

Stroz pleaded guilty in December in Henderson Justice Court to a misdemeanor count of the unlawful killing of an animal. The plea marked the legal conclusion of a storm of public outcry that started Nov. 22 when Stroz, who was off duty at the time, shot and killed Judy Burns' border collie, Rosie.

Stroz, who has been on regular duty since the incident, said Tuesday night he had not been notified of findings of the Internal Affairs investigation and had no comment.

Burns said Tuesday night she doesn't have preference on Stroz's punishment from the department.

"I'll leave it to them. Metro knows best on what they need to do," she said.

In the weeks after the shooting, a barrage of sometimes hate-filled e-mails were sent to Henderson Police and City Hall. People also called Stroz's home phone machine and left nasty messages, including some death threats.

Residents also contacted Metro about the shooting.

"I would say we've had a lot of public contact regarding this issue," Meriwether said. He declined to describe the nature of the messages.

The incident started on a November morning as Stroz was walking his own dog. He told police he saw his neighbor's dog running around outside and the dog approached him. He backed up to his garage and the dog continued to advance. He pulled out his gun and shot the dog.

Burns, who lives across the cul-du-sac from Stroz, said she went out to get her dog. She said she was near her dog when Stroz fired. The dog ran across the street and died.

Stroz must finish the community service in one year, which amounts to working an eight-hour day each week for 50 weeks. He also must pay for the cremation of Burns' dog.