Arizona Deputy Fired For Zapping Frog With Taser

FLORENCE, Ariz. -- A Pinal County sheriff's deputy was fired for allegedly using his Taser on a frog, but now the sheriff's office is being forced to take him back.

CBS 5 News obtained the internal investigation on Deputy Raul Alvarado, who other sheriff's office employees said tortured a frog in August of 2009.

Another deputy told investigators that he saw Alvarado apply his Taser to the frog's back for five seconds and the frog's legs shot straight out. "He's taking it like a champion," Alvarado then reportedly told the other deputy. Alvarado allegedly told a female dispatcher that he planned to take the frog into the desert and perform sexual acts on it.

After the internal investigation was complete, the sheriff's office fired Alvarado but he appealed to the county's merit commission and they ruled that he should get his job back. "Alvarado's polygraph was inconclusive so the county couldn't prove its case," said Joe Robison, chairman of the commission. "We are 100 percent sure he did this. The sheriff wouldn't fire someone, especially for being untruthful, unless he was sure," said PCSO spokesman Tim Gaffney.

The sheriff's office has asked the Pinal County Superior Court to uphold the firing.

In the meantime, the Casa Grande Police Department did a criminal investigation on Alvarado and recommended that prosecutors file charges for felony animal cruelty.

As of now, no charges have been filed against Alvarado.