[Photo with one or more animals]
Currently Chief of the Investigative Services Bureau and Assistant Chief of Police in the Montgomery County Police Department, Chief Wayne Jerman served as director of the Animal Services Division from September 2002 to May 2005. "I received a first class education in the animal care field," he said of his time there.
Getting new Animal Control laws on the books
In 2002 the County Council passed a law for microchipping animals, a law Chief Jerman strongly supported. It required that before animals left the shelter they must be microchipped. It took teamwork between himself and his staff and two members of the MCHS Board of Directors -- Sharon Kessler, then-executive director, and Margaret Zanville, then-board president, of MCHS at the time. As a result, this new law made the ASD’s job much easier in tracking and returning stray animals to their owners.
More recently, the County Council passed the “Leash Law.” This requires that animals, when outside, must be on a leash at all times -- voice control isn't enough. According to Chief Jerman, this new regulation greatly reduced unwanted animal contact with the public and also lowered the number of animal bite incidents.
Humane education, Chief Jerman believes, goes a long way toward educating people about proper animal treatment and care. Raising the community's awareness of compassion results in fewer charges of neglect and abuse, he said.
A rescue story to remember
Several years ago the ASD was called to a neighborhood in Silver Spring because there were many snakes and other reptiles crawling around on the street! There were also offensive odors coming from a warehouse nearby that belonged to the Reptile Connection pet store in Silver Spring.
ASD investigated the complaint and discovered that the warehouse was full of sick and dead reptiles. Upon further investigation, the officers found thousands of snakes, mostly “exotic” reptiles -- some snapping turtles, scorpions, and caimans in the warehouse. ASD caged up the living reptiles and boxed up the venomous snakes. With the help of MCHS, many were sent to zoos, private caregivers, and foster homes. As you might expect, ASD conducted a thorough investigation of the business and found that many animals had died from neglect. The proprietor of the pet store was charged with animal cruelty, found guilty, and put out of business.
Honoring Maryland's first sucessful felony prosecution against animal cruelty
[double-check details of this story in back issue of Animail]
In 2003, an ASD officer brought charges against the owner of a pit bull puppy. Apparently the owner had killed the dog by beating it to death with his fists. Upon hearing about the case, the Humane Society of the United States posted a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of this heinous crime.
Two witnesses provided key testimony that led to the perpetrator’s arrest and conviction. In exchange for their testimony, the two witnesses, who were not identified, split a $5,000 reward ($4,000 from the HSUS and $1,000 from the Montgomery County Humane Society).
With the successful prosecution of this case, HSUS honored three Montgomery County officials (then State’s Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, Assistant State’s Attorney Alex Foster, and Officer Herbert Emerson of the Montgomery County Police Department Animal Services Division) for their work in bringing about the first conviction of animal cruelty under Maryland’s then one-year-old Felony Cruelty Law.
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