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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=693173721-16052008>I generally agree with all of the posts on this thread.
Love dogs, have little patience for irresponsible dog owners, and my heart goes
out to the folks that were frightened / attacked by this dog.
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=693173721-16052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=693173721-16052008>I also wanted to add that I appreciate that Vern asked
Chief Chambers to address this topic and that she provided such a very
satisfactory response. I completely empathize with the person who wrote the
original post, understandably very upset about having witnessed such an awful
event. I appreciate that we can air our concerns through this list. I also
appreciate that Chief Chambers gave us another side of the story. I would not
want her (or anyone with the Town) to have to keep silent in light of complaints
aired informally in this forum. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=693173721-16052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=693173721-16052008>~Nancy</SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> towntalk-bounces@riverdale-park.org
[mailto:towntalk-bounces@riverdale-park.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Vernon
Archer<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, May 15, 2008 8:47 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
TownTalk<BR><B>Subject:</B> [RP TownTalk] Dog incident<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dear friends and
neighbors:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">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. </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">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.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">____________________________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">May 14, 2008</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Mr. Mayor –</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">We in the Riverdale Park Police
Department are saddened at having to destroy the dog we encountered.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many of us are pet owners and care
deeply about the care and well being of animals.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What occurred prior to shots being
fired are critical factors that led us to take this action.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The dispatcher has
described the victim as screaming for help, and he told her he was being
attacked by a pit-bull.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He told the
dispatcher he was near the pumping station off of Taylor Road.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The dispatcher could hear the dog
barking and snarling.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The victim
was using his bicycle to fight off the dog.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Officers were dispatched to the call
to assist the man who was being attacked.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>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. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Fearing the dog would attack someone
else, the officers gave chase.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It was necessary to fire several
shots to kill the dog.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">None of us felt good about having to
destroy a dog who, we later learned, was a pet of a town resident.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We know, though, that making the
decision to do so was appropriate and necessary and was done in the safest
possible manner.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Teresa Chambers</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Chief of Police</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Town of Riverdale Park</SPAN></P><BR
clear=all><BR>-- <BR>Vernon Archer, Mayor<BR>Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
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