This article was  published by TIM SINIARD with the Cleveland Daily Banner on 1/08/2022.

Marcus Easley wants Cleveland and Bradley County residents to take a bow for supporting Joker, a local K-9 officer.

 

When Cleveland State Community College students in October launched a petition campaign to advocate passage of a law making it a felony to assault a K-9 officer, Easley, a CSCC criminal justice professor, said thousands of local residents lent their support by signing on paper and online.

 

And during a ceremony held Saturday at the Bradley County Sheriff's Office, those  petitions were presented to Tennessee state Rep. Mark Hall, R-Cleveland, who will take the more than 16,000 signatures to Nashville on Tuesday and introduce his Joker's Law bill during the Tennessee General Assembly’s upcoming legislative session.

 

"The gives me the momentum to get to Nashville  and get this done," Hall said.

During Saturday's ceremony, Dawne Carlyle, a criminal justice student at Cleveland State, said Tennessee has weak laws concerning K-9 officer assaults.

 

Return of the Joker

As a result, she and other students, as well as Garrett Choate, whose father, BCSO Deputy Eduardo Choate is Joker's handler, decided to launch a petition drive to pass Joker's Law.

 

"We came up with a plan and Mark (Hall) grabbed it and ran with it," she said.

 

In addition to Carlyle, CSCC students Chelsea Mincey,  Tucker Still and Jehri-Anne Welch also participated in the petition campaign.

The petition drive began after Joker, a Bradley County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer, was seriously wounded by a gunshot while responding to a burglary in progress at Parks Oaks Apartments on Harrison Pike in September.

 

The K-9 underwent emergency surgery at a Chattanooga-area veterinary hospital. His handler, Eduardo Choate, was uninjured during the episode, which was recorded on surveillance video.

Easley said the petition drive gained even more traction when local residents Kathy Davini and Gina Bell teamed up to land signatures.

 

Davini told the Cleveland Daily Banner when her friend Bell saw Easley and his criminal justice students running during October's Cleveland Half Marathon

while clad in T-shirts emblazoned with “Jogging for Joker," Bell recruited Davini and other friends to get involved in the petition drive.

 

“Gina saw the shirts and called me,” Davini said. 

 

The T-shirts, designed by Faith Maives, a CSCC criminal justice student, were worn by  CSCC student Samantha Rossetter, Easley and Maives.

Moreover, Davini said the effort served another purpose.

 

“I feel like we should always support our police,” Davini said.

 

Although it was unfortunate Joker was injured, Davini said the K-9 saved other deputies and police officers from getting shot during the incident.

 

“Joker took the bullet,” she said.

 

Currently, no Tennessee law exists making it a crime to assault K-9 officers.

 

“A police animal is not considered an officer, it's considered property,” Davini said. “We wanted to do everything we could to change the law in Tennessee.”

 

Recently, Davini, who hosts “Bradley Beat,” which is broadcast on WCLE’s MixTV, invited Easley and his students on her show to discuss the petition drive.

 

“She was able to get us a lot of attention,” Easley said.

 

 

Hall, who will return to Nashville when the General Assembly resumes Jan. 11, told the Banner in October his goal was to have the "most aggressive law in the nation" that would "punish those responsible for "assaulting, injuring or killing a K-9 officer in the line of duty.”

 

 "These animals are assets to the communities they serve and especially to the law enforcement officers that these animals protect," he said. "If a criminal wants to harm our law enforcement family, we will be there to stand with them as we prosecute and convict swiftly, with the full extent of Tennessee law.”'

 

 Hall said the state "will not stand for any abuse nor any harm, toward our partners, K-9 or otherwise. ... This amendment is aimed at criminals, plain and simple," he said.

 

 Specifically, the statute will classify the crime as a Class B felony, punishable by eight to 30 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $25,000, Hall said.

 

When he returns to Nashville on Tuesday, Hall said he will introduce the bill in the House's Law Enforcement Committee.

 

"Eventually, it will land on the floor for a vote," he said. 

 

Hall's effort is getting national attention, resulting in  phone calls from state legislators across the nation inquiring about Joker's Law. Many plan to introduce  similar bills in their state legislatures.

As for his fellow legislators, Hall said he expects both houses of the General Assembly to support Joker's Law "100%."

 

 

Last month, after his veterinarian OK'd him to return to duty,  Joker had a successful first day back on the job, resulting in “tracking down three subjects through the woods,” BCSO Public Information Officer Alana Shell said.

 

Joker attended a routine appointment at Animal Emergency & Specialty Center of Chattanooga last week, she said, to follow up on the healing of his injuries  suffered on Sept. 22.

 

Shell said the doctor stated in K-9 Joker’s discharge papers that “tracking is permitted” and cleared the dog to return to work with minor restrictions, "due to the wonderful progression he has shown over the last several weeks."

 

 K-9 Joker’s muzzle and feeding tube were removed and his jaw stabilized. In addition, he is remains on a soft diet. 

 

 Joker is strong and ready to serve … and this proves he is right where he belongs,” Shell said.