Former Hart Co. deputy jailer charged for gross mistreatment of K-9 officer

A former Hart County deputy jailer has been charged with animal cruelty for his mistreatment of a K-9 deputy.

James Kersey, the K-9’s former handler, was charged with second-degree cruelty to animals after a Kentucky State Police investigation.

In August 2020, Kersey informed jail officials that the K-9 officer, Ragnar, was not eating as he should. The dog was taken to a veterinarian and treated for worms. Ragnar’s health, though, continued to deteriorate but Kersey took no further action to help the dog.

Because of COVID issues, Ragnar was not working at the jail, so no one other than Kersey knew the dog’s health was declining. Hart County Jailer Israel Bergenson, unaware of Ragnar’s deteriorating condition, and unsure if many of the jail programs were going to be re-instituted, including the use of Ragnar as a drug detector, directed Kersey to inquire if Tactical Performance K-9 in Tennessee, where the dog was trained and purchased, would be interested in taking Ragnar back.

In September, Ragnar was taken back to Tactical Performance K-9, who reported to Bergenson that the German Shepherd weighed about 45 pounds, roughly half Ragnar’s ideal weight, and was suffering from severe malnutrition.

Bergenson instructed Tactical Performance K-9 to do all it could to restore Ragnar’s health.

“James just messed up by not making me aware of what kind of condition he [Ragnar] was in,” Bergenson told news outlets. “I just, I put too much trust in one of my deputies and they just let me down.”

Ragnar was nursed back to health and picked up in Tennessee by Bergenson, who now cares for the dog. Bergenson plans to attend K-9 training to become a certified handler.

Kersey is due in court on May 3 to answer the class A misdemeanor charge.

(Headline photo: 45 lb Ragnar upon arriving at Tactical Performance K-9 in September 2021, courtesy of the Hart County News-Herald)