Farmington, UT – Corporal Timothy Robinson, a K9 handler with the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, was charged today by the Davis County Attorney’s Office with a class A misdemeanor in relation to an incident that occurred in August 2023.
Corporal Robinson is accused of striking or assaulting his police service animal, K9 Rolf, during a routine training exercise with other law enforcement officers present. Following the incident, his actions were reported to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, and we took swift action to ensure Rolf was immediately taken into the care and custody of Animal Care of Davis County, where he received an evaluation. Corporal Robinson was immediately relieved of duty and placed on administrative leave. Rolf has since been returned to our office and has been reassigned to a different deputy.
“Rolf has been a member of our family for the past three years,” said Sheriff Kelly V. Sparks. “Immediately following the accusations, our priority was to ensure that Rolf was safe. We hold our law enforcement officers to a higher standard, and news of this alleged incident has caused much distress to our office and our K9 program. Our priority right now is to ensure that Rolf is given an opportunity to thrive with a new handler and continue his valued service to Davis County.”
An internal investigation is active and ongoing, and Robinson, a 10-year veteran of our office, remains on administrative leave. To avoid any conflict of interest, the Bountiful Police Department was asked to conduct the criminal investigation. We appreciate their thoroughness and their willingness to help. We also respect the decisions made by the Davis County Attorney’s Office.
Since the inception of our K9 program in 2009, our K9s, like any of our deputies, are valued, loved, and respected, and we are deeply saddened by what’s occurred.
DAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE 