Lawsuit Names Walton County Sheriff, Fire Official in 2024 Dog Shooting
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office and Walton County Fire Rescue — the two agencies that answer Freeport’s law enforcement and fire calls — are now defendants in a nine-count civil lawsuit over the 2024 shooting of a family’s dog during a house fire in Mossy Head.
Court records show the suit was filed June 12 and names three officials personally: Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson Jr., WCSO Sergeant Kyle Hutto, and Walton County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Mike Griggs. According to reporting by MyPanhandle, the counts include common law negligence, trespass to chattel and conversion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and a Fourth Amendment claim for unconstitutional seizure.
The case traces back to the early morning of August 15, 2024, when a 911 call about a large fire on Mixon Road brought both agencies to the property at 5:46 a.m. The homeowners’ pit bull, Bella, was barking near the gate firefighters needed to pass through, but the lawsuit says the dogs never charged or lunged at anyone — and multiple firefighters were already out of their trucks and moving around the property when the shot was fired.
According to court documents, Sergeant Hutto had initially drawn his taser to deploy non-lethal force. Battalion Chief Griggs, per the suit, told him to shoot the dog instead. Rather than waiting for animal control, which was en route, Hutto fired his service weapon and killed Bella.
What turned a local incident into a two-year legal fight was what came after. Bodycam footage obtained in the case captured deputies joking and laughing while Bella’s body still lay on the ground — including one exchange imagining the homeowner’s reaction to finding his house burned and his dog dead, and another suggesting someone “drag that” dog “to the woods.” WEAR-TV’s 2024 reporting identified the dog’s family as the Pylant family, who said hearing the audio was a dagger through their already broken hearts.
Sheriff Adkinson addressed the bodycam recordings in a September 2024 live stream, saying it was “not right” to fire the deputies over their comments, though he confirmed disciplinary action was taken for the unprofessional behavior. Now the agencies are facing the legal reckoning: court records show Adkinson was served with the suit on September 4 and Hutto on September 10. A summons has been issued for Griggs but has not yet been served.
For Freeport residents, the suit lands on the county leadership of the services they rely on every day. WCSO provides law enforcement across Walton County, including Freeport, and Walton County Fire Rescue answers fire and medical calls from its stations serving the area. The claims against a sheriff, a patrol sergeant, and a fire battalion chief put the conduct and training standards of both agencies — the ones Freeport residents call on in emergencies — directly at issue.
Originally reported by MyPanhandle, with additional reporting from WEAR-TV and WJHG.
Image: MyPanhandle.
