WOOD COUNTY, Texas — The Wood County Sheriff's Office is torn between who deserves the proper credit for an arrest and drugs found inside an impounded vehicle, putting a K-9 officer in the middle of the debate.
According to a report by the Quitman Police Department, in February, an officer pulled over a man for a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and after a short fight the officer took the suspect to jail.
The officer found drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.
After the vehicle was towed, the police report said Constable Kelly Smith obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. The report said K-9 officer Juma helped authorities find more drugs, later identified as methamphetamine.
However, Wood County Sheriff Tom Castloo said the story was not correctly portrayed, and it was his deputies that found the drugs. He wrote on his re-election campaign website, his deputies should receive credit for finding the narcotics in the vehicle, not the K-9 officer.
'I don't know why someone would do that with a valued officer in my mind that serves this community so well," said Sheriff's Castloo's opponent Kelly Cole. "She's an officer out here just like the rest of us. She just happens to be the canine that [Castloo] has for his constable's office."
In the comments on the trending Facebook post made by Constable Smith, people have shown their appreciation for Juma.
"Kids love her," Cole added. "She's a great boost for the community, with people being able to see, you know, that part of law enforcement."
CBS19 reached out to Sheriff Castloo for a comment on Wednesday before this story was published. He responded Thursday with his thoughts.
"The post from [another media outlet] led everyone to believe the dog made the arrest," Sheriff Castloo said. "The dog didn't have anything to do with the arrest. The dog had nothing to do with it."