DA Dunaway Said No Criminal Activity Involved In CPD Canine Team Findings

District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said the findings of a State Comptroller’s investigation into the Cookeville Police Department Canine Team are not criminal in nature.

“There will be no action by my office,” Dunaway said. “As far as I am concerned, it was an audit report from the Comptroller’s Office, which is the case for many of their investigations. So that will be the end of my review.”

Dunaway said he also does not believe it would be appropriate for the department to take any disciplinary actions. Dunaway said the Comptroller’s Office sending the report to his office is just a matter of protocol.

“I can’t speak for Chief Evans of the Police Department, but I don’t imagine it would be appropriate for any disciplinary matters either,” Dunaway said. “I think the matters that were reported by the Comptroller were minor.”

According to the report released Tuesday, the Canine Team Coordinator used city facilities to train and kennel dogs for a personal business and used a city email address to send documents related to the sale of canines.

The police department and the city of Cookeville also failed to document the trade of a dog between the department and coordinator.