Bluffton police chief: Kitten's killer was properly charged

Despite questions that have area bloggers buzzing, Bluffton's Police Chief said Tuesday that charges filed against a town official accused of shooting his neighbor's kitten were appropriate and in accordance with state law.

Police Chief David McAllister also addressed bloggers' allegations that Frank Hodge, director of Bluffton's new Department of Building Safety, received special treatment because of his job with the town.

"Nobody (in Bluffton Town Hall) influenced our decision. (They) had no impact on the charges, arrest -- nothing," McAllister said.

Hodge is accused of fatally shooting a seven-month-old kitten named Mud Pie in the chest and neck when the animal came onto his property around noon April 15, according to a Bluffton police report.

He was cited for malicious injury to an animal and discharging a firearm within town limits in connection with the incident, according to the report.

Bloggers have questioned why Hodge wasn't charged with a felony under South Carolina animal cruelty laws, which carry harsher fines and more jail time than the misdemeanor charges he faced.

Animal cruelty laws would not have been used, McAllister said, unless Hodge had tortured the animal to death -- for example, by lighting the cat on fire.

"The state legislature makes a difference between killing and cruelly killing," McAllister said. "Some people may say (Hodge) cruelly killed the cat, but in the facts of the investigation, he only killed the cat. We charged accordingly."

McAllister said people frustrated by the charges should direct their concerns to state legislators.

Mud Pie's owner, Bluffton resident and Hodge's neighbor Amy Longley, filed the initial incident report April 17.

A supplemental report, which includes details about investigators' interviews with Hodge, will not be released until May 15, the scheduled Bluffton Municipal Court date, McAllister said.

Hodge paid a $257.50 fine for discharging a firearm in town limits and a $562 fine for malicious injury to an animal April 22, according to Bluffton Municipal Court records.

While Hodge still has the right to plead innocent and appear in court May 15, his attorney, Roberts Vaux, said Tuesday night his client has pleaded guilty by paying the fines.

"That's the end," he said.

Frank Hodge, 62, in the second week of his two-week unpaid suspension from his post, did not return phone calls Tuesday.

Attempts to talk to him at his home also were unsuccessful.

Town Manager Bill Workman said Hodge will undergo mandatory counseling through the town's Employee Assistance Program. He said Hodge will begin two weeks of vacation after his suspension and that the two haven't discussed a resignation. Hodge was at home for lunch, and therefore not on the town's time when the incident occurred, Workman said.