NEW JERSEY -- A pit bull loose on Locust Street attacked two teenagers and a police officer that came to their rescue, sending all three to the hospital, police reported.
Patrolman Alexander Lanza got the call for help and responded from just two blocks away at 8:48 p.m. He said that when he arrived the dog was "viciously biting" a teenage boy from Elizabeth in the middle of Locust Street, near the 7-11 store at West Webster Avenue.
The boy's friends, Roselle Park police said, were "desperately trying to fend off the attacking pit bull" by hitting it with a bicycle. The patrolman sprayed the 85-lb dog with pepper spray and then grabbed it, allowing the teen to escape.
Patrolman Gregory Polakoski pulled up to assist, said police, and as he was getting an animal snare from the trunk of the car, the dog turned on Lanza, biting the officer in the thigh and refusing to let go.
Lanza unholstered his gun to shoot the dog, but he could not do that without endangering a half-dozen children who were in range, Dima said. The collarless dog didn’t let go of Lanza until Polakoski hit it several times with his baton and grabbed it by the nape of its neck.
Polakoski held on, even as the dog lunged several times, while Lanza went to get the snare, police spokesman said. Though ensnared, the dog still fought back and bit Lanza again, this time on the ankle, as he took it to the patrol car.
The pit bull was taken to the Woodbridge Health Department, Division of Animal Control for quarantine.
Polakoski found that two 17-year-olds has been bitten by the dog, the one from Elizabeth and another from Roselle. The teens were taken by ambulance to Overlook Hospital-Union campus for treatment of puncture wounds to their arms and legs, said police, while Lanza was treated at the hospital for wounds to his thigh and ankle.
Detectives are trying to find who owns the dog.
(Suburban News - June 27, 2012)
