[RP TownTalk] Dog incident

Thu May 15 13:13:24 UTC 2008

I just wanted to say thank you to our town reps, police dept., and mayor for dealing with this incident (both during and after) in such a professional manner. It sounds like it was a horrible event for all involved directly and indirectly.

I'm also sad to say I had a strong hunch it was this particular dog. I often use the bike trail to commute and sometimes with my son--we have stopped many times by the pumping station. While my son looks through the fence at the pumping station, I stand looking down the hill at the pitbull tugging at his chain and barking agressively at us. I cannot comment on what kind of treatment this dog was used to, but I can say he is outside a lot, attached to a 20 ft. chain in a yard with no fence. It always seemed like a matter of time before he busted loose from his chain simply from how strong he was and how aggressively he'd bark and lunge toward passersby. It is unfortunate what happened, but I can completely understand why a high degree of force was necessary.

-Marc M.
The RP Muse Blog ~ Highlighting local arts & culture. Submissions welcomed.http://therpmuse.blogspot.com

Date: Thu, 15 May 2008 08:47:24 -0400From: varcher at gmail.comTo: TownTalk at riverdale-park.orgSubject: [RP TownTalk] Dog incident
Dear friends and neighbors:

I asked our Police Chief Teresa Chambers to draft a letter that outlined the events leading up to the shooting of a dog on Monday May 12.  The letter is provided for your information and is not an official report. 

Anytime a shot is fired, the absolute minimum action that the department takes is to have one of our detectives conduct an internal investigation.  That investigation has not been completed.

____________________________________

May 14, 2008

Mr. Mayor –

We in the Riverdale Park Police Department are saddened at having to destroy the dog we encountered.  Many of us are pet owners and care deeply about the care and well being of animals.  What occurred prior to shots being fired are critical factors that led us to take this action.

At 3:24 p.m. on May 12, 2008, our dispatcher received a frantic call from a bicyclist who was commuting to work via the bike trail that runs between the Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River and Taylor Road.  The dispatcher has described the victim as screaming for help, and he told her he was being attacked by a pit-bull.  He told the dispatcher he was near the pumping station off of Taylor Road.  The dispatcher could hear the dog barking and snarling.  The victim was using his bicycle to fight off the dog.

Officers were dispatched to the call to assist the man who was being attacked.  Based upon the seriousness of the call and the chance of serious injury being incurred by the victim, officers responded to the area using lights and sirens.  When the officers arrived and ran on foot to the bike trail, they saw the dog still attacking the victim and lunging toward a second victim, a child.

One of the first officers who arrived at the scene of the attack first attempted to use a taser to stop the dog's attack; however the dog's quick movements made it impossible to accurately deploy the weapon.  When the dog moved away from the victims, one of the officers was able to safely fire his issued handgun several times at the dog.  It is possible that one or more of the rounds struck the dog, and the dog began running through the yards toward Taylor Road in the direction of Longfellow Street. 

Fearing the dog would attack someone else, the officers gave chase.  While we would have liked to have been able to await Prince George's County Animal Control officers, they will only respond if an animal is contained in a secured location.  Once the dog got to a location where the officers could fire their weapons without the chance of injury to a passer-by (5320 Taylor Road), they fired their firearms at the dog.  Since the dog was still in the open and able to run freely prior to being shot, to have not destroyed the dog at that time would have been irresponsible on our part and would have left the Town of Riverdale Park in an indefensible position if the dog had then attacked another victim.

It was necessary to fire several shots to kill the dog.  Animal Control personnel have trained law enforcement to avoid, whenever possible, firing a shot to an animal's head when we destroy it (it is important for them to have the animal's brain to accurately test for rabies).  In this case, though, the animal did not die after the first few shots were fired; and, instead of allowing the dog to suffer further, a fatal shot was fired to the dog's head.

None of us felt good about having to destroy a dog who, we later learned, was a pet of a town resident.  We know, though, that making the decision to do so was appropriate and necessary and was done in the safest possible manner.

Teresa Chambers
Chief of Police
Town of Riverdale Park-- Vernon Archer, MayorTown of Riverdale Park, Maryland 
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