DOGS
ATTACKING
A few months ago someone threw
a Pit Bull into Marc's fenced-in yard. The Pit Bull, dressed out in 4
inch leather fighting collar, was tossed from a pick-up truck, that had
backed up to the front gate, over the fence gate and into the yard. The
dog ran directly towards Marc's two dogs, Belgian Malinois (German Shepard's
cousin, a police K-9) and hefty Rottweiler, and a vicious fight began.
Marc seeing all this immediately ran outside with his pistol, waited for
a clear shot and then killed the 80 pound Pit Bull with one shot. Marc's
Rotty had to be rushed to the vet for 72 stitches. A call to 911 was directed
to Animal Control. Animal Control was called and information about the
event was taken over the phone. No one followed up, but a week later Marc
received, via the US mail, a fine for not having his dog's rabies information
with him at the vet's. The dog that was killed had many scars on its body
indicating that it had been in several prior fights. No rabies tag on
the Pit Bull, no idea if the dog was diseased, no investigation into the
matter at all.. By the way, just by coincidence, we had just finished
a show two hours earlier about a rash of Pit Bulls being taken from homes
in burglaries and the Dog Fights going on out in Brunswick County.
Last updated: December 18. 2004 12:00AM
Officer shoots, kills pit bull
By Sam Scott
Staff Writer
A Wilmington police officer said he shot and killed a pit bull Friday
after the dog lunged at him as he waited for New Hanover Animal Control
Services to arrive.
Officer Pat Pridgen said he was responding to a 3 p.m. call that a woman
was nearly bitten by a neighbor’s dog as she put up Christmas decorations.
As Officer Pridgen drove, he saw the white, male pit bull chasing a young
boy. He approached it and the dog came up beside him, he said.
Officer Pridgen said he got out of the car to keep an eye on the dog until
animal control came. The dog charged him several times, and he ultimately
shot it near its Sumter Drive home when it got within 5 to 10 feet of
him, he said.
"He was mean," he said. "It took three rounds to put him
down."
Owner Jeff Jones said he couldn’t understand why Gotti was killed,
saying the dog had been raised around people and would never attack anyone.
"Y’all killed an innocent dog," said Peggy Meeks, Mr.
Jones’ next-door neighbor, whose small grandchildren would tussle
with the dog. She said the officer overreacted because of its breed. "He
did not deserve it."
Others, however, painted a much different picture, saying the dog terrorized
their neighborhood for months.
"I’m relieved the dog is history," said Kathryn Kirkpatrick,
who said the pit bull chased her twice as she tried to hang laundry earlier
in the week. "We were scared to walk the street."
Gwen Lawlor said it had almost stopped her from getting her medicine delivered.
And Deayna Byrd said it had chased her and her 3-year-old son into their
house.
Officer Pridgen also killed a pit bull in August after the dog attacked
a real estate agent surveying a home.
"I hate having to do it," he said.
Attacking dog shot by police
December 01,2004
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A Jacksonville police officer shot and killed a pit bull Monday afternoon
after the dog attacked a woman and charged the officer.
Kasey Brinkley, 33, of North Willow Lane, was hanging Christmas decorations
with her two children Monday about 3:55 p.m. when a neighbor's pit bull
broke loose. The dog was aggressive and started to chase Brinkley, said
Paul Spring, deputy chief of the Jacksonville Police Department.
Brinkley managed to get her daughter in the house and yelled to her son
to get in the back of a pick-up truck.
"She was unable to get to safety herself, and the dog chased her
and bit her in the back of the leg," Spring said.
At that point, Brinkley jumped onto her car to get away from the dog,
Spring said.
Another neighbor, Leroy Mundy, was in his shed behind his house and heard
Brinkley screaming that the dog bit her. Mundy grabbed a shovel and tried
to scare the dog away, Spring said.
"The dog started running towards him, and (Mundy) backed into a fenced
area and called 911," Spring said.
When officer James Kirk arrived at Brinkley's house, the dog started running
at him.
"The dog charged him, and, unfortunately, the officer had to shoot
the dog," Spring said.
Kirk hit the dog with the first shot, but the pit bull kept charging.
Kirk fired a second shot. The dog fell and started yelping, Spring said.
"The dog at this point was seriously injured and the officer fired
a third round to stop the dog from suffering," Spring said.
The owner of the dog, Emily Holcomb, 22, of North Willow Lane, wasn't
home at the time. Onslow County Animal Control was called to remove the
dog. Animal Control hadn't received any complaints about the dog in the
past, Spring said.
Holcomb was not charged. Brinkley was treated at the scene and drove herself
to Onslow Memorial Hospital, Spring said.
Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@jdnews.com or at 353-1171, Ext.
238.
Article published Nov 13, 2004
Dog attacks baby
Boy, 3, in hospital; Animal Control gets case
A 3-year-old boy was rushed to New Hanover Regional Medical Center after
being bit by a pit bull in the Creekwood housing community Friday afternoon.
“We walked in the house, and the dog just attacked him,” said
the boy’s mother, Kesha Conyers, showing her wounded hands as she
waited at the hospital. “I tried to fight the dog off, and then
the police came. I’m so happy they came so fast.”
The boy, whose name was not available Friday, was listed in serious condition,
according to a hospital spokeswoman. Details of his injuries were unavailable
late Friday.
Detective Waymon Hyman was the first to arrive at 613 N. 30th St., responding
to a call about a dog biting a child.
“When I arrived everything was pretty frantic. The child was injured,
the mother was really upset,” he said. “I tried to distract
the dog, I tried to keep the attention on me.”
Seconds later, Sgt. Kenneth McMillian arrived. He acted fast; grabbed
the child and ran outside.
“Two other police officers were holding the dog, but he attacked
them, got loose and ran after McMillian and the child,” Detective
Hyman said.
Sgt. McMillian was running with the child in his arms when he shot the
pit bull.
In the common yard in front of apartment 613, the blond pit bull lay motionless
in the rain, with two gunshot wounds to his head.
Officers turned the case over to New Hanover County Animal Control, which
will complete the investigation because the attack involved an animal,
Lt. George Perkins said. New Hanover County Health Department Director
Dave Rice, who oversees animal control, said the incident was under investigation
and a report would be available Monday.
Police Capt. Sharon Pulley said they would not release the name of the
boy because it wasn’t their investigation and because of his age.
Capt. Pulley also said she had received information that the dog carcass
would be examined in Raleigh.
The dead pit bull had old scars, similar to those found on dogs used for
fighting, on its limbs. Wilmington police officers declined to speculate
on whether the dog had been involved in such activities.
“We don’t have any details or history on the dog, but animal
control should be able to release that information whenever their investigation
is completed,” Detective Hyman said.
Ms. Conyers, the boy’s mother, declined to comment as to why the
dog was in her house. Neighbor Joyce White, who stays on Emory Street,
said she had seen the dog in the neighborhood in the past.
“It’s kind of a vicious dog,” she said.
In the hospital waiting room, about 20 friends and family members were
praying and waiting for news about the little boy who was in surgery.
Linda Cromartie, a family friend, had come to give her support.
“I came as soon as I heard,” she said. “We are hoping
and praying that he’s going to be OK.”
Majsan Bostrom: 343-2075
majsan.bostrom@starnewsonline.com
Published: Nov 24, 2004
Modified: Nov 24, 2004 3:00 AM
Man guilty of drug charges
Drugs, weapons found in home after dogs mauled son
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE -- A Charlotte man whose pit bull dogs mauled his 8-year-old
son pleaded guilty Monday to drug and weapons charges stemming from a
search of his house after the brutal attack.
Roddie Dumas, 29, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent
to distribute crack cocaine and possession of firearms and ammunition
by a convicted felon. Dumas entered his plea just after U.S. District
Judge William Osteen rejected a defense motion that the search of Dumas'
home was illegal and the prosecution's key evidence -- guns and drugs
found inside the residence -- should be thrown out.
A trial on charges of using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking
crime and intimidating and interfering with a U.S. letter carrier followed
the plea. Jurors began deliberating the charges late Monday.
Two of the charges are punishable by up to life in prison. Possession
of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment.
Dumas also is charged in state court with involuntary manslaughter in
connection with his son's death. No trial date has been set.
Roddie Dumas Jr. died in April when four pit bulls attacked him in the
back yard of his father's home in west Charlotte.
Michael Redice, the letter carrier Dumas is accused of intimidating, broke
down Monday on the witness stand as he recalled trying to save Roddie
from the attacking dogs.
"I saw four dogs mauling the child to death," Redice, wiping
his eyes and hanging his head, told jurors. "I've never seen anything
like that before in my life.
"They were biting him on his legs and neck," Redice said. "He
was screaming for help. I got me a stick and jumped over the fence. I
got the dogs off him."
Dumas and his girlfriend were at home at the time of the dog attack but
didn't come out until Roddie had been fatally injured, police and witnesses
have said.
Redice told jurors that when he saw Dumas, he questioned the father about
why he had not heard his son's pleas for help.
"You got to be blind, dumb or stupid," the letter carrier recalled
telling Dumas.
Redice said Dumas pointed his finger at him as if holding a gun and threatened
to kill him.
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Dog killed in bloody melee after attacking Gainesville
student
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A sheriff's deputy shot and killed a 70-pound
pit bull Thursday after the dog attacked a student in an apartment stairwell
and turned on a neighbor attempting to help.
Two others charged the pit bull with knives and a machete, trying to get
the dog to loosen its grip on one of the victims, according to Alachua
County Sheriff's officials.
Ryan Tyler, 21, of Jupiter, and Ryan Troup, 19, of St. Petersburg, were
rushed to Shands at UF and treated for arm injuries.
The dog was in the hallway on the second floor of a Gainesville apartment
complex when it lunged and severely bit Tyler on his left arm, biting
almost to the bone, said Sgt. Steve Maynard of the Alachua County Sheriff's
Office.
"If the dog had been left to chew on him, he probably would have
been dead," Maynard told The Gainesville Sun.
Maynard said the dog, a black pit bull with reddish hues, was named Tango.
Tyler's friend, Ian Carmichael, heard screams, rushed from his apartment
and jumped on the dog's back. He tried pulling Tango off by its collar.
At the same time, Nathan Lezniewicz, ran to the scene with a machete and
kitchen knives.
The men furiously stabbed the dog while its teeth were clenched on Tyler's
arm, Maynard said.
The dog, bloodied and with a knife in its torso, released Tyler's arm
and ran up to the third floor. But it immediately came back downstairs,
cornered Troup and bit his arm.
Neighbors called for help, and deputies arrived soon after.
With Carmichael and Lezniewicz still trying to fend off Tango, deputies
pounded the dog with a pole. Officers then shot the dog, Maynard said.
Deputies were trying to contact the dog's owner. The Sheriff's Office
did not say whether charges will be filed.
Maynard said the apartment building prohibited certain types of dogs,
such as pit bulls.
___
Report: Officer
Shoots Partner During Pit Bull Attack
Pit Bulls Remain At Large
POSTED: 6:21 p.m. EST December 2, 2004
UPDATED: 6:48 p.m. EST December 2, 2004
Story by Click On Detroit
-- An officer accidentally shot his partner while attempting to fight
off two pit bulls, witnesses told Local 4.
Detroit police responded to a vicious dog call in the 8800 block of Trinity
at about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Evelyn Parker, 77, showed Local 4 a bite wound she received from one of
the dogs.
"They came from the front of my car and the white one ran behind
me and bit me and the brown one was in front of me and I was trying to
keep him away with my cane," Parker said.
Anita Briantley, who lives in the neighborhood, said when police arrived
at the scene, one of the dogs attacked an officer.
"I seen the brown dog charge the officer and the officer was shooting
him," Briantley said.
Another neighbor, Darlene Smith, explained how the officer apparently
shot his partner.
"They bit the officer on the hand. He went down because the dog lunged
at him," Smith said. "The brown one ? my neighbor next door
said it got (the officer) on the back of his leg as he went down and he
was firing his gun and somehow he shot the other officer."
The gunshot struck the officer's partner in the knee. The injured officer
was being treated, Local 4 reported.
The two pit bulls escaped and remain at large.
GOOD DOG
September 16, 2004 - 11:58 p.m.Published: Dec 8, 2004
Modified: Dec 8, 2004 10:27 PM
Police dog bites nude man in the genitals
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A naked man was bit in the genitals by a police dog
while being arrested for running nude and entering homes in a Minneapolis
neighborhood. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.
According to police reports, a police canine unit found the nude suspect
shortly after noon Tuesday in a house on the 5400 block of Park Avenue
South.
While the officer was ordering the suspect out of the house, the suspect
began hitting him, police said.
The dog, which was still leashed, bit the suspect to protect the officer.
Officer Ron Reier, a department spokesman, said police dogs are trained
to bite if their partner is attacked. However, dogs are not trained to
bite in the groin area. Reier said the dog likely just jumped and bit
the man, who was moving around at the time.
"The dog did what the dog is trained to do, and that is protect his
handler," Reier said.
After the man was bit, he continued to attack officers and police used
a stun gun before eventually restraining him, police said.
The dog was removed from street duty while the incident is being reviewed,
and the suspect is in police custody, Reier said.
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