Washington County leaders call for controller to resign after arrest on animal cruelty charges

WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — Officials and residents in Washington County are calling for the county controller to resign after she was arrested on animal cruelty charges.

Court paperwork shows April Sloane was charged with aggravated animal cruelty for causing serious bodily injury or death and aggravated animal cruelty for torture as well as animal neglect. It comes after police executed a search warrant at her home earlier this month. 

At her home, police found her dog dead from severe emaciation. Now, there is an outcry for Sloane to resign, with many saying they’re outraged after hearing about the allegations against her. 

“This dog should have been taken care of. I don’t think a person should be in public office that does that that to an animal,” Washington County resident Rocco Malirbi said. 

Now, seven elected officials in the county are calling for her resignation. They sent her a letter on Wednesday morning saying she should step aside so the office can function without the distraction of the charges. 

“Sloane is clearly in a mental health crisis by definition of what she does,” Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman said. “She’s not in sound body mind, and this is a big position that she has with the controller. This is all the finances of the county, and it’s imperative that we have someone in there that understands the office and it has the mental capacity to handle the large responsibility of the finances of the county.”

Sloane was elected as controller two years ago. According to police paperwork, she allegedly admitted to officers that the dog was not taken care of properly. 

County commissioners said as soon as they heard that she admitted to what happened, they took action.   

“This is why we’re asking for what we’re asking for because no one besides one in a mental health crisis would do something like this,” Sherman said. 

Many in the community agree, saying they are disgusted by the allegations and heartbroken for the dog, named Thor. 

“Somebody should have done something about that. For a helpless animal to die like that, no, it’s not right,” Malirbi said. 

KDKA-TV reached out to Sloane for comment but did not hear back on Wednesday. 

The elected officials calling for Sloane’s resignation say they’ve donated to the Washington County Abused Animal Relief Fund in Thor’s name.