What would Ronnie McNesby do? The PNJ’s online editorial says that Ronnie McNesby would have done a better job of handling the K9 attack on Vickie White than Sheriff Morgan.
Really? Really?
In February 2005, a K-9 attacked a Gulf Breeze High School senior, Addison Salter, at a Valentine’s Day dance. Salter suffered 47 puncture wounds. He sued and won a lawsuit over the attack.
How did Sheriff Ronnie McNesby handle the attack? Well, before I get into that, the PNJ didn’t even write a story on the Feb. 12 melee until Feb. 15, according to the West Florida Library archives.
There were two versions of what happened—the ECSO version and the kids. Sheriff Ron McNesby isn’t mentioned in any of the PNJ articles that I found.
In the article “Deputies, teens brawl at Valentine ‘s dance”, Deputy Ray Briggs referred to it as a “near riot.” Mark O’Brien wrote a column in Feb. 17 and identified the vicitms as kids of privilege, glossing over the K9 attack. A week later, ECSO released a report that some kids at the dance had been drinking. Still nothing from Sheriff McNesby.
On March 9, 2005, the deputies are cleared. “Based on eyewitness accounts, including those of adult chaperones, the sponsor and a senior lieutenant at the Sheriff’s Office who was there with his daughter, the deputies’ actions were in accordance with our policies and procedures,” Mooneyham said. “Their conduct is not in question by this office.”
Deputy Jeremy Jarman filed civil lawsuits against against the kid attacked by the K9, Addison Salter, and Travis Roth–which were later dropped. Jarman had other issues later.
So I don’t get where the PNJ thinks Sheriff McNesby did a better job of handling a K9 attack. I do think the PNJ is covering this attack more aggressively than four years ago and that is probably a good thing.