16Dog loses his job
Handler removed from K-9 unit after flap with colleagues
A highly trained German shepherd is having a ruff time at home because his owner was booted from the Department of Correction’s K-9 unit for alleging sexual harassment, legal papers claim.
Officer Donna Schnirring says her drug-and weapons-sniffing dog has been unable to do his job for nearly four years due to jail brass’ retaliation and sexism. The 9-year-old pooch, named Bullet, became anxious and depressed after Schnirring was pulled from the unit in 2017 when she filed a sexual harassment complaint. Now, the elite dog lives like most other house dogs in Suffolk County — though Schnirring said Bullet is so stressed out the animal chewed walls and stairs. He’s also tried to jump out of windows, thinking he’s doing training exercises.
“They’re just shattering somebody’s whole lifelong dream. Not only does it have an effect on me it has an effect on the animal, too,” Schnirring, 38, told the Daily News.
“All the training, all the work into him gets wasted for what? There’s no actual reason why I can’t be there [in the K-9 unit].”
Schnirring filed a notice of claim last month seeking $5 million for retaliation and discrimination. The notice, which is the first step toward a lawsuit against the city, is the latest example of dysfunction in the DOC’s K-9 unit.
Late last year, a canine on Rikers Island chomped on a soap container, resulting in the poor pooch dying a brutal poisoning death. Sources blamed the kennel mishap on inadequate supervision due to overtime cutbacks. The incident is still under investigation.
Buying and training a law enforcement canine typically costs more than $20,000.
Schnirring joined DOC in 2008 and achieved her lifelong goal of becoming a canine handler in 2012. She was the only woman in New York State certified as a K-9 patrol instructor. The 85-pound Bullet learned to detect all manner of contraband, including knives, guns and seven different drugs in exhaustive training with Schnirring. The sharp shepherd can also track a fugitive.
Schnirring remains uniquely qualified among DOC staff to serve in the elite unit, she says.
“The DOC has chosen to unlawfully retaliate against my client rather than utilize the skills of the only woman in their employ who is a certified patrol and narcotics K-9 handler. We hope this lawsuit will expose and ultimately right these wrongs,” attorney John Scola said.
The officer’s dream job turned into hell after a colleague began sexually harassing her, she claims. The alleged harassment “caused friction in the close-knit canine unit,” which erupted into a wild brawl inside a Rikers Island trailer on June 9, 2017, according to a decision by the city’s administrative law court. A departmental trial found no wrongdoing by Schnirring, who said she was not there for the fight.
Nevertheless, Schnirring was removed from the unit. She sued the department in early 2018, claiming hostile work environment and retaliation. Schnirring agreed to settle the case for $150,000 after being assured that acceptance of the offer would not keep her from returning to the K-9 unit, according to the notice of claim. But Schnirring’s requests for a transfer, which included an in-person meeting in June 2019 with Commissioner Cynthia Brann, have gone nowhere, she says.
Schnirring now works at the Queens Detention Complex, processing inmates for court appearances. Bullet, meanwhile, sits at home, awaiting walks from his owner’s friends and family.
“At home [Bullet] is always so hyper. He doesn’t ever turn off. Just recently he started just laying down — it almost reached a depression. I guess after three years he’s saying ‘ok, I guess this is it,’ ” Schnirring said.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s been a lifelong dream that finally came true. I loved doing what I do every day. That shattered all because of lies throughout the Department and the retaliation.”
The Law Department said it does not comment on notices of claim.