Animal control worker says ex-boss cruel to pets
Murray » Woman claims city is retaliating against her for complaints about the department.
By Nate Carlisle

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 02/02/2010 10:42:50 AM MST

More than a schedule change, Johnson wants Bowman fired or transferred out of animal control.
As Dianna Johnson tells it, the kitten was crying when her then-boss ran over and picked it up.

Then Cory Bowman took it by the head and twisted the kitten's neck, Johnson said, decapitating it.

At the time, Bowman was the director of Murray City Animal Control, the department which corrals stray animals and houses them in a shelter. Johnson also claims Bowman used pepper spray on dogs and euthanized animals before a mandatory waiting period.

Bowman has since been demoted, but Johnson and her attorney contend the city has retaliated against her for complaining about him and problems with the department. Johnson now works 4 p.m. to midnight during the week, which keeps her away from her family.

More than a schedule change, Johnson wants Bowman fired or transferred out of animal control.

"He's the only person I've ever worked with that didn't like animals," she said in a recent interview.

Bowman would not comment for this story, instead referring questions to the city of Murray. An attorney for the city, Mike O'Brien, said in an e-mail "the personnel issues at Animal Control have been appropriately resolved."

The city provided The Tribune documents from a 2008 internal investigation into Bowman as well as an audio recording of Bowman's discipline hearing.

Bowman directed Murray City Animal Control for about 10 years, though documented complaints date back to 2003.

"This is probably

 one of the thickest IA [internal affairs] files I have other than when officers commit crimes," Murray Police Chief Peter Fondaco yelled near the start of the 2008 hearing. Murray City Animal Control is a division of the police department.

Fondaco criticized Bowman throughout a 95-minute hearing but did not discuss any abuse of animals. The discussion focused on how Bowman mistreated employees.

"My god. I would hate to work for you," Fondaco said.

"Sometimes I hate to work for me, with me," Bowman replied.

Documents show Bowman used to euthanized kittens by breaking their necks, an action labeled inhumane by The Humane Society of the United States. Johnson did not see Bowman pull off the kitten's head at Murray's animal shelter in 2003,
 was told moments later what happened.

The kitten needed to be euthanized because it had no mother and workers could not find someone to adopt it, but the worker with intravenous injection gear for euthanization was away. The kitten was hungry and crying, and the woman holding the kitten was crying, too, Johnson said.

Bowman got frustrated, Johnson said, yelled at the woman and said she should not be working in animal control. That's when he took the kitten.

Johnson said Bowman was trying to break the kitten's neck, but he used too much force, pulling off the head.

Johnson also accused Bowman of killing animals before the mandatory waiting period of three working days, depriving owners of the chance to retrieve their lost pets.

In a May 2008 letter to Johnson, Bowman argued one group of cats he recently destroyed were within policy, listing the time frame as "the day they came in, the following day, and the last day or the day they are euthanized."

Bowman added he had documentation showing Johnson had euthanized animals in the same amount of time.

Johnson and another witness in the internal investigation accused Bowman of punishing employees by destroying dogs he knew the staff liked. In 2004, Johnson held a silky terrier puppy and begged Bowman to put it up for adoption. He refused and euthanized it.

"I knew I killed that dog," Johnson said. "I killed that dog because I was holding it."

She said she also has seen Bowman douse dogs with pepper spray, including a barking dog chained up behind a 4-foot fence.

"He said it deserved it," Johnson said. The poor treatment also extended to the public. In fall 2008, a woman came to Murray's animal shelter to retrieve her lost cat. Bowman hurt the cat and hissed at it while putting it in a box, according to the documents, and when the owner asked the best way to wash the cat, Bowman replied "with a pitch fork and a fire hose."

During the December 2008 discipline hearing, Bowman said he was overwhelmed as a supervisor and did not know how to fix the problems with his staff. He apologized to Fondaco for troubles in the department, but also directed some responsibility toward his three female employees.

"Even now, I kind of feel they kind of sat around and created a hostile little hen peck environment," Bowman said during the hearing.

Fondaco considered firing Bowman but said the other employees in animal control, including Johnson, said Bowman was a bad manager but could be a nice guy and did not want him fired.

Bowman was demoted Dec. 11, 2008, and continues to respond to complaints about animals, collect strays and inspect animal-care facilities from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. A police sergeant now supervises animal control.

Johnson has since decided she would like Bowman fired or kept from working with animals.

Last year, Johnson took a leave of absence from Murray animal services. Her lawyer, April Hollingsworth, wrote the city saying Johnson was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of Bowman's abuse. Hollingsworth requested Johnson have no contact with Bowman at work.

Hollingsworth has accused the city of retaliating against Johnson by giving her the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, but Fondaco denies that claim.

In a Dec. 2, letter to Johnson and Hollingsworth, he noted the city investigated Johnson's complaints, demoted Bowman, and had previously offered Johnson an earlier shift -- though it would have overlapped with Bowman's schedule for three hours a day.

"We are sorry that you see the City's efforts to work with you as retaliation, but they are not," Fondaco wrote.

O'Brien noted Johnson has previously said Bowman has a "good heart" and asked the city not be "mean" to him. O'Brien also is The Tribune 's attorney and recused himself when the newspaper requested documents on Bowman.

Johnson has a husband and 13-year-old son at home and a 2-year-old grandson she baby-sits. Although Johnson would like more time with her family, she said, "To me the highest priority is the animals and not myself."

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