Arbitrator Orders Reinstatement of Fired Officer

CARLTON, Minn. (AP) — An arbitrator says a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy will keep his job despite being caught on video striking his police dog.

Deputy Brett Berry was fired in April after he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in northeastern Minnesota's Carlton County.

Berry admitted that he got drunk at Black Bear Casino and beat his K-9 partner, Boone, in June 2015. Berry was at the casino for a canine officers' certification event.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports a state arbitrator found Monday that the sheriff's office did not sufficiently consider mitigating factors when it moved to fire Berry.

The arbitrator noted that Berry sought alcohol abuse treatment. The dog was not injured.

Berry was ordered reinstated to active duty immediately but with the restriction that he cannot work with dogs.