Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Dog Owner Identified In Montrose Dog Beach Attack

From the Tribune:  "Chicago police on Tuesday launched an internal investigation against an officer whose pitbull killed a small dog at the Montrose Beach dog park last month, the department said. Its animal crimes team cited the officer, a five-year veteran, for failing to report that his dog bit another animal within 24 hours of the incident, which occurred March 17."  The article goes on to say he has been relieved of his police duties while the investigation is ongoing.

Second City Cop addressed the attacking dog's owner in its blog"Seriously? It's a Animal Bite Card, maybe a Damage to Property report. A civil suit wouldn't be out of the question, but minimally involved. And now your career is on the line? Not to mention the beating the Department is going to take in the media and in the minds of citizens who are just going to see another asshole copper thinking they're above the law and, truth be told, common decency."

It should be noted that the 19th District police officers passed out hundreds of flyers and went to the media to try to identify this guy.   While nothing will bring back the small dog who was killed right in front of his owners (every pet owner's worst nightmare), at least now they have an answer to who owned the dog that did this and who should rightfully pay the very extensive vet bills incurred.

UU Note:  Sadly, this sort of incident has happened before, as recently as 2010.  We were reminded of by the reader who witnessed the previous attack.  Very sad for all involved.

22 comments:

  1. I hear it all the time on the news, "my pit bull would NEVER hurt anyone!" Then one day it eats your grandma, new baby, or the neighbor's kid.

    "oh!! I don't know WHY "Killah" did that! He was always such a SWEET loving dog!"

    Same thing happened to my cousin. I told her that getting a Pit Bull was a bad idea and I heard the "oh its not about the breed its about how they are raised!"

    Then one day it attacked and seriously harmed a family member's dog. Lesson learned? Probably not.

    Seriously people, animals are animals, we can try and tame them, but in the end they are subservient to their nature. If a dog is bred to be aggressive, dominating, and have jaws that are designed to rip the flesh off another creature, chances are it will have success in doing so giving the right circumstances. ALL dogs are descendants of Wolves, but some dogs have been inbred to the point of hilarity (Pug) and couldn't hurt anyone if they tried. Or are "ferocious" and you can basically kick it across the room if it ever actually tried to hurt you or another dog. (Chiuawaua)

    Nobody ever bought a Pitbull because it was "cute and cuddly" and thought it was a nice lapdog. Anyone that does is delusional. People get Pitbulls because they are badass and mean looking and would protect you with their lives (and likely win).

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  2. I have three dogs. A GSD, a West Highland White Terrier and a pitbull. The Westie is the boss in that herd. But they have all gotten along now for at least seven years. When the pit dies which she will soon because she has cancer, I will replace her with another pitbull. While I love the other two dogs, the pit is the best of the three by far. Oh, btw, in case anyone thinks I have the pit to bolster my selfesteem, think again. I found the dog on the street. I located the owner and after doing an investigation, I kept the dog. It was either me of the needle for her.

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  3. I am so disappointed to hear the offender was a police officer with 5 years on the job.This is a cruel and heartless act. My husband is a police officer and we have. Two small dogs, he was devastated. Granted the 19 th district did their part and handed out flyers, and for all we know a fellow officer may have recognized the dog killer. Hope he is stripped of his duties. Keep in mind Bark in the Park is May 5th, I'm there every year.

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  4. The issue here is the "one bite rule". Every dog is allowed one free bite. After that, the owner has knowledge that his dog might harm another and has a legal duty to protect others from his dog. The dog bit someone just last week. After that the owner had to protect others and he did not do that by bringing his dog to the beach and/or not putting on a muzzle. So, the law will go after this guy, not because he is a police officer, but because he is an asshole didn't do what he was legally required to do.

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  5. My post of April 1st confirmed my suspicion he was a Chicago Policeman. I witnessed the attack from a distance, as I was standing near the entrance to the beach but saw all the commotion, the dog pass by me held in the owners arms and the owner of the pit bull who I followed for 45 minutes and tried to get his name.

    On March 17th I wrote to Uptown Update about the incident.

    The first question I asked the man was Are you a Chicago Policeman?" That was the very first question. I swear it was and I said I asked him this on my post which was never published on March z17th.

    He said "NO!, no, I'm not a Chicago Policeman". I told him calmly I didn't want anything to happen to his dog, I just wanted to find out what happened. He became belligerent. I followed him and again he became belligerent.

    Within the Chicago Police Department their is a culture. It doesn't apply to every policeman. But their is a culture within the department and those people who belong to it, carry themselves in a certain way, dress in a certain way and speak in a certain way. My very first thought about who he was was that he was a cop.

    Many Chicago policeman are very BAD PEOPLE, indistinguishable from the criminals they arrest. Many are not. But you can tell the good guys from the bad guys right away.

    This man, I believe uses steroids as I believe many chicago policeman do who belong to this culture. Those steroids have a very real impact on the entire persona of the person, and they do so in a very negative way, affecting emotional responses and cognitive perceptions. That's why this culture in the Chicago Police department and soldiers and police all over the world who use drugs or steroids and exceptionally paranoid and aggressive.

    Let's stop acting surprised that a Chicago policeman with a dog that mirrors his personality takes his dog to Montrose Beach to perhaps kill other dogs.

    The next question is....Who is this policeman and what might he have done to real people.

    The internal investigation department is a joke. They will do nothing, that's from my personal experience of being harrassed on two occassions for no reason by the police and many other times unreported.

    Everyone know the internal investigation department protects the police and almost NEVER issues any disciplinary action.

    Look it up. It's been looked into by the media and has been a long standing scandal in Chicago.

    The police are not sancrosanct and it ought to be permissible to criticize them.

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  6. This is all about a person who did the wrong thing. It is not about the breed of the dog. This is akin to someone arguing that it was the gun's fault that some low life wrongfully shot and killed someone. I know plenty of good people who own dogs considered "dangerous" and those dogs are well-behaved.

    Also, netbizz, there is no "one bite rule in Chicago or in Illinois". The Illinois statute related to dog bites (The Animal Control Act) does not allow a free bite. It also does not require that you prove any "negligence" or ill-intent. It is a matter of whether the dog bit someone without being provoked.

    Here is a link: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1704&ChapterID=41

    Here is the relevant language: If a dog or other animal, without provocation, attacks, attempts to attack, or injures any person who is peaceably conducting himself or herself in any place where he or she may lawfully be, the owner of such dog or other animal is liable in civil damages to such person for the full amount of the injury proximately caused thereby.

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  7. Stu,

    So, while not representative of the entire group of people this man belongs to, a lot of that certain type of people are bad, even violent?

    These people dress a certain way, act a certain way and even speak a certain way - indicative of their culture; and - as such, you are able to disseminate the "good ones" from the "bad ones"?

    You've had run ins with these people before, and those incidents - I'm assuming through no fault or provocation on your part - were confrontational.

    And .. based on evidence that you find to be obvious, these people should not be above criticism?

    ... am I reading you right?

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  8. Ummm. There are bad,
    Dogs, Apples, Crane Operators, Baseball Players, Authors, Computer Programers, Doctors, Bus Drivers, Bartenders, Pirates, Black People, Donkeys, Bear Drinkers, Beer Makers, Travel Agents, Movie Producers, Pilots, Civil Engineers, Alderman, Automakers, Insurance Agents, Football Coaches, News Anchors, Comic Book Artists, Astro Physicists, Gorillas, Blog Owners, Blog Posters, Lawn Mowers, Tomatoes, Beers, and many more categories or descriptives.

    Just because one Football Coach (Jerry Sandusky) or one Pirate ( Irish) or Movie Producer ( Roman Polaski) or Alderman (Helen Schiller) are bad does not necessarily mean that all their contemporaries are bad.

    Just saying not all Pit Bulls are Bad, and Not all Police are Bad.

    In fact I bet you would find that a Bad Pit Bull is the Product of someone who is bad as well Inside of whatever they are classified by.

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  9. Yo....

    I don't really understand what you are saying.

    Chicago police have a lot of problems with the personnel.

    There a decent policeman. There are indecent policeman. If I had to guess it would be about 60 not so decent.

    Lot of violent guys out there. Mean guys. Bad guys. When you see cops with no neck, bald, sunglasses and an attitude....this is the culture I'm talking about. They are bad guys. Meaning they abuse their position and abuse anyone who appears vulnerable to them.

    I was able to identify him because he just looked like one of those guys and I asked him point blank if he was a cop.

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  10. This officer was suppose to protect and serve, and he only protected himself. This cop needs to be fired. Because he left a family deeply hurt and traumatized while he went into hiding. I hope the owners of the dead dog sue him and take his corrupted a** to court. And since his dog has now attacked and killed another dog...and has tasted blood, it should definitely be euthanize.

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  11. Stu,

    Reread your original statement and replace any reference to "CPD" with any of the following:

    - Whites
    - African Americans
    - Latinos
    - Asians
    - Democrats
    - Republicans
    - Gays
    - Women
    - Men
    - Poor people
    - Rich people
    - Fat/Short/Tall/Skinny/Ugly people


    Also - let me ask you this: Is it acceptable for anyone to profile people based on their appearance?

    Are you starting to see my point, yet?

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  12. I would agree with Solo for the most part. On the whole of it, the police are supposed to be a moral support of society in efforts to serve, protect, lead by example and enforce justice. This callous attitude by an officer is just inexcusable. Put aside whether or not you like pit bulls, cite rules of dog ownership, etc - this just is not the level or type of conduct expected from any police officer. Sadly though as can be seen in the posts and perhaps a general opinion, this perhaps is more common than uncommon. Too bad.

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  13. It is absolutely essiential that all life forms have an ability to "profile" based on appearance.

    There must be a separation between being prejudice and being perceptive.

    The person who is prejudice cannot profile accurately.

    Now, any dumb ass fool whose been anywhere and has grown from a child to an adult in the city ought to know danger in the form of another person when they see it.

    Being able to generalize and discriminate are necessities in life and they are misunderstood by people who cling to their prejudices and cover them up with the pablum of the day as you have done leaving confusion irrelevancy and vagary in their wake with analogies about "every group has it's bad apples".

    The police are not a racial group. They are a work force. They are a group of people who work at a particular job that because of it's nature attracts some people who are very interested in control of other people and using abusive force to control those people.

    On second city cop, you can see there are other policeman who aren't attracted to "control", power and force. They perhaps are people who are working for a living rather than living for their work.

    In other words being a police officer ought to be a job that people choose to do well, rather than abuse. There are many police that see their job as employment.

    There are many ...way too many...who are extremely abusive of the position and I'm gonna tell ya...they more often than not look like this guy and they ought to look into the use of steroids within the police department because steroid use affects aggressive tendencies.

    People who no longer have necks because they have become part of their back from steroid use ought to be profiled. You can't get to look like that from working out. It requires drug use. This drug makes people aggressive, aggressive when they don't need to be.

    Police don't need to be on steroids.

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  14. Being able to generalize and discriminate are necessities in life and they are misunderstood by people who cling to their prejudices and cover them up with the pablum of the day as you have done leaving confusion irrelevancy and vagary in their wake with analogies about "every group has it's bad apples".

    Many Chicago policeman are very BAD PEOPLE, indistinguishable from the criminals they arrest. Many are not.

    Whatever you say, champ.

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  15. Stu Piddy,where I do begin? Your post and thought process are so outlandish, so out there and so wrong that I just don't know where to begin. I don't even know if your post deserves a response. But in the spirit of helping those less fortunate than I, I will. There is help available for what ails you. Call 1-312-926-3112. They are waiting for your call.

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  16. I understand the concern about how this will reflect on the police force. But let's look at this from the other side.

    Everyone already knows that there are a lot of free-loading, crooked, and incompetent cops out there, but that was a given. If you've lived in this town long enough, you probably know this from personal experience. But what this shows is that there are also cops who are doing their job with integrity. They are working for their pay, they are applying the law equally even when it affects their colleagues, and they are doing the right thing. They got the guy and he's been relieved of his duties because he doesn't deserve to wear the badge. So I say this is an opportunity to celebrate the good ones, and thank God we have them. Let's hope we can get more like them.

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  17. Since someone *cough* brought up Second City Cop, here's their "coverage" of the incident.

    Note the overwhelming support .. I mean, disdain the offending officer receives from his brothers in arms.

    My favs:

    "A cop can be a f***ing idiot too."

    "That dog should be put down. I'm undecided as to what to do with the pit bull."

    "How about suspended for leaving the scene, failing to identify, and failing to report. Fire this jag"

    "You are truly a piece of crap for hiding like a coward and not reporting this incident. Thanks dumb-ass, for placing another blackeye on Chicago police officers."

    "This member of the CPD has got to go. If he hadn't acted the way he did and let this matter slide for a month, and instead had done the right thing immediately by identifying himself and taking care of the financial aspect of this tragedy, then I could see him staying. His total lack of character shows he has no business being a Chicago officer and on a payroll that I help fund. F*** the douche bag, there are more qualified individuals waiting for a chance to serve this city."

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  18. I have a poodle named Poochy and find that the owners of these large aggressive dogs do not control them. Sad this happened.

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  19. Big Daddy:

    I called the number at the clinic and they agreed, after just a few minutes of conversation with your analysis. We made an appointment.

    I went for my appointment and I was on time.

    Everyone was very nice to me. That's never happened before, they listened to everything I said and didn't criticize me in any way. They were very accepting and non-judgemental.

    They told me I had a cognitive disorder. And that it was very serious. They told me that I was not in touch with reality and that I needed counseling and medication to bring me back to "consensual reality".

    Thats what they called it. I don't know what that means but it sure sounds good. I think it means that if I agree with everyone around me I will find acceptance. It's kind of religious and I liked that.

    Now I'm on this medication they gave me and I really feel good. People are asking me why I look so happy, and I tell them they should call the number you gave me too... if they aren't happy like me. I'm making friends and meeting new people at the clinic.


    Thanks Big Daddy

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  20. Funny, @americanlt , every time i got to puptown or the dog park there's always a poodle harassing other dogs and their owner doesn't pay attention. breed has nothing to do with this. The dog beach needs to be size segregated, it's big enough, there's no excuse.-

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