By Monica Obradovic
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — A St. Charles County corrections employee has been arrested and placed on leave after authorities say he tried to pass off his husky as a “drug-sniffing dog” and used it to harass people at his apartment complex.
Bjorn Stotser, 40, was charged with harassment, assault and resisting arrest after prosecutors say he approached a man who was cleaning his car outside the apartment complex on Tuesday, identified himself as a corrections officer, lied about his dog being a police dog, and asked the man if he had drugs in his car.
Stotser eventually charged at the man and unleashed the dog, which jumped on the man, charges say.
The dog was Stotser’s personal pet and was not associated with the county’s Department of Corrections, according to St. Charles County Department of Corrections Director Daniel Keen. Stotser was placed on administrative leave after the incident, Keen said.
Officers responded to the scene, but Stotser wasn’t arrested until Wednesday, after officers were called to the apartment complex again for a disturbance.
Police said Stotser had accused a woman in the apartment leasing office of contacting police about the earlier incident. During that confrontation, court documents say, Stotser became “highly agitated,” cursed at her and made her fear for her safety.
Another person in the office told Stotser to leave several times, but Stotser refused and asked the person, “What are you going to do about it?” Stotser then chest bumped him, police said.
Police also noted Stotser had brought his dog, whose “temperament changed” as Stotser became aggressive, and Stotser let him roam during the confrontation. The dog eventually jumped on the woman, according to court documents.
When police tried to arrest Stotser, they say he tried to slam the door closed. Officers eventually pinned him to the ground and handcuffed him.
Stotser is being held at the Warren County Jail.
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