Questions swirl over Detroit animal control's controversial hire

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Concerns are being aired about the new director at Detroit Animal Care and Control, Mark Kumpf.

"I am not happy with Detroit, the leadership there, for making this decision," said Theresa Sumpter.

Rescue group wants new director of Detroit animal control out

Mark Kumpf was named in a lawsuit after a woman there was mauled to death by dangerous dogs.

Sumpter, the director and founder of Detroit Pit Crew Dog Rescue, points to the headlines from Kumpf's last position. He was fired from his job as director of the Montgomery County Animal Resouce Center in Ohio.

Kumpf was named in a lawsuit after a woman there was mauled to death by dangerous dogs.

He was hired here just a month after 9-year-old Emma Hernandez was killed by three pit bulls while riding her bike in souhwest Detroit.

"To hire somebody who is still in litigation for a mauling that happened under his watch - that is something, I can't even believe they made that decision," Sumpter said.

Sumpter is planning protests. She wants Kumpf out and called the decision to hire him "tone deaf."

But the person who hired him says Kumpf's experience as an animal control officer will help with public safety here.

"We want to make sure that there's no one being injured or mauled by an animal, and the ones we do catch, we want to make sure we take care of them," said Hakim Berry, Detroit chief operating officer.

Mark Kumpf

It is not an easy job. DACC picks up 12 to 15 dogs each day and shelters about 150 - with only 20 animal control officers and 12 assistants.

With all this talk about the new director, we asked when we might have a chance to talk to him. The city told FOX 2 that they want him to have a couple weeks on the job and a chance to implement his plan.

"We needed somebody who had the public safety knowledge and experience, what Mark Kumpf brings with him is 30 years of that experience," Kristina Rinaldi said.

Rinaldi, the executive director of Detroit Dog Rescue, says she met with Kumpf and can understand the concerns but thinks he can be an asset to the pets and the people of Detroit.

"On paper, does it look terrible? I think it does," Rinaldi said. "But that's why we had people sit down and interview him, and talk to him, and get a feel for his ideas, his plans and what he wants to do in Detroit."

Rinaldi says she and other rescues will be watching closely and working with DACC to improve conditions inside as well as safety on the streets.

"If it's not a fit," Rinaldi said, "I'll be the first to say to Mayor Duggan, 'This is not a fit.'"