A former Georgia county deputy and K9 handler was arrested on Thursday for animal cruelty. In an announcement, the Richmond Hill Police Department said officers arrested Matthew Ainsworth for injuring his police dog.
According to local media, a family member told police this week that Ainsworth beat his K9. They also provided a video of the October incident. During interviews with reporters, authorities described the dog's injuries as significant but did not go into detail.
Richmond Hill police said the investigation is ongoing, so few details about the incident have been publicly disclosed. However, officials did say that they charged Ainsworth for aggravated animal cruelty. They added that they transferred the K9 to a different jurisdiction, where it's doing well.
Ainsworth served with the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office and the Long County Sheriff's Office. However, details about his career and dates of employment were not shared.
Yet, the Texas-based K9 Global Training Academy shared images of an officer named Matthew Ainsworth from Liberty County and his police dog named Barry. They graduated in August 2017 and two weeks later, recovered baggies of cocaine and cannabis. While the person in the image shares a name and likeness with the former Georgia deputy, it's unclear if they are the same person.
Aggravated animal cruelty
Under the Georgia criminal code, the term "animal cruelty" has two definitions. The first one means to cause "physical pain, suffering, or death to an animal by any unjustifiable act or omission." The second definition means to exercise "custody, control, possession, or ownership of an animal" or failing to provide "adequate food, water, sanitary conditions, or ventilation."
Also, the inclusion of the word "aggravated" means that authorities allege that Ainsworth acted "maliciously" toward his dog or that his neglect of the animal was so bad that it rendered parts of the dog's body useless or seriously disfigured.
Given that Georgia considers aggravated animal cruelty a felony, if convicted, Ainsworth could face up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Additionally, harming a law enforcement animal has its own statute and violations range from misdemeanor to felony charges. It's unclear if that was taken into account.
Following his arrest, Richmond Hill police officers transported Ainsworth to the Bryan County Detention Center. The Bryan County Sheriff's Office booked him on June 6. He's scheduled to appear at a local superior court at an undisclosed date.
Article updated June 10, 2024 at 12:45 p.m. CST
