Suspect had police officer's license

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 Missouri.

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

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

The search and rescue team was only activated once while Short was a volunteer, to locate a missing infant. 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 an Oct. 29 meeting and request to be made a commissioned deputy on a reserve basis, Walter said.

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 sevents like sporting events, and only under the supervision of a licensed deputy, Walter said.

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," Walter said.

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.

According to Jeremy Spratt, program manager of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, the Department of Public Safety's process involves verifying the charges against Short with court records and speaking with investigating officers before making a decision on what disciplinary action should be taken.