BENTON - St. Clair County’s failure to appoint a veterinarian as administrator of animal control killed a cat, Melanie Hutchinson of Belleville alleges at U.S. district court.
Her counsel Matthew Chapman of Granite City sued the county, animal control director Ashley Jett and assistant director Eddie Johnson on Aug. 19.
The lawsuit claims the county chairman and board permitted untrained and unqualified employees to supervise and perform animal killings without proper protocols.
Jett allegedly did not authorize Johnson to kill Hutchinson’s cat, Malone, and a veterinarian didn’t supervise Johnson because the county never appointed one.
According to the suit, Malone’s death constituted seizure under the Fourth Amendment and deprivation of property without due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.
“It was unreasonable for Malone to be killed when Malone posed no immediate danger and was not supposed to be euthanized,” Chapman wrote.
The suit claims that Hutchinson adopted Malone as a five year old gray tabby in 2019. Hutchinson, her husband, and their four children cared for Malone.
According to the suit, Hutchinson tried to remove Malone from a confrontation with their dog on June 24 and Malone bit Hutchinson.
“Malone had never bitten anyone before,” Chapman wrote.
Hutchison’s medical provider notified the county of the bite.
Johnson then contacted Hutchinson on June 25 and informed her that Malone would require ten days of observation.
Hutchinson informed Johnson that her family would leave for vacation and asked if Malone could be isolated in the home for ten days, the suit claims.
Johnson allegedly told Hutchinson that Malone could not stay in the home.
Hutchinson agreed to drop Malone off at the county shelter on June 26 and pick him up when the family returned on July 8.
On July 5, during the vacation, Hutchinson received a call from Jett stating Johnson mistakenly euthanized Malone.
“Jett told Hutchinson that this was a terrible, terrible mistake,” Chapman wrote.
Jett allegedly explained that she and Johnson discussed three dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized and she left the facility.
She explained that she returned and a paper on her desk indicated that Johnson killed Malone, the suit claims.
Jett allegedly issued a memorandum on July 11 stating they would go back to having two people in the euthanasia room to confirm identity and request.
Chapman claimed Jett wrote, “I, Ashley Jett, will be assisting Eddie for euthanasia.”
The suit claims that the failure of the county chairman and board to appoint a licensed veterinarian as animal control administrator directly resulted in Malone’s killing.
The county and Jett were deliberately indifferent in failing to train and supervise Johnson and in failing to ensure appropriate decisions were made for animals, according to the suit.
The court clerk randomly assigned Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert.