Man Pushes For More Action In Holdenville Animal Cruelty Case

The Oklahoma state director for The Humane Society of the United States attended a tension-filled Holdenville City Council meeting Tuesday night.

Two weeks ago, we showed you photos of dead and decomposing dogs and cats that turned up last month at Holdenville Animal Control. The town fired Animal Control Officer Adam Smith, and Hughes County prosecutors charged him with felony animal cruelty.

7/3/2013 Related Story: Former Holdenville Animal Control Officer Charged With Animal Cruelty

But the man who found all the dead animals back in June says the investigation hasn't gone far enough.

"It needs to go a lot further than Adam Smith," said Jason Grizzle. "They just buried a lot of stuff underneath the rug, and it just aint right."

During Tuesday's council meeting, Grizzle told Holdenville Police Chief Keith Wardlow he should also share blame. Chief Wardlow supervises animal control. Wardlow shot back that he couldn't discuss what happened in public, because the investigation is ongoing.

Before Tuesday's meeting, Grizzle showed Oklahoma state director for The Humane Society of the United States, Cynthia Armstrong, the gruesome photos of dead dogs he showed us two weeks ago.

"It's terrible what happened, and it's awful to think about the suffering that took place," said Armstrong. "It was just horrific."

Jack Barrett has been Holdenville's mayor for 23 years. "It cannot happen again, we just have to make sure it never happens again," he said.