Man arrested on dog fighting charges is licensed police officer

Jessey Short, one of the three men charged in connection with a dog fighting ring broken up Saturday by the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department, was a licensed police officer in the state of Missouri.

According to the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Short, of Cape Girardeau, held an active Class R license, or reserve license, with the state allowing him to work as a reserve officer within the state of Missouri.

At the time of his arrest, Short was a volunteer on the Scott County Search and Rescue Team, an off-shoot of the sheriff’s department run by chief deputy Tom Beardslee, made up of civilians who volunteer their time to help during times of crises.

The search and rescue team was only activated once while Short was a volunteer, to locate a missing infant, but Sheriff Rick Walter said he didn’t recall Short assisting with the rescue.

Short had just graduated from the reserve academy, and was scheduled to go before the sheriff’s department at a meeting Oct. 29 and request to be made a commissioned deputy on a reserve basis, said Walter.

There would have been a 90-day probation period during which Short’s behavior would have been closely monitored, after which, if he passed, he would be authorized to maintain security at events like sporting events, and only under the supervision of a licensed deputy, said Walter.

The sheriff’s department does a background check on all potential reserves, and no red flags came up in Short’s history.

“There’s no arrests, no convictions, he was squeaky clean, if you look at his record,†said Walter.

As a reserve officer, he would have no authority as a law enforcement official when off duty, nor was he licensed to carry a weapon.

Short is charged with the class D felony of dog fighting. According to the disciplinary process of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, being charged with a criminal offense will result in immediate suspension of a license. The Daily Statesman reported that the Department of Public Safety intends to investigate the incident.