OREGON -- The pit bull fatally shot Tuesday morning by a McMinnville police officer after it attacked a basset hound and turned on the owners of both dogs was neither leashed nor contained in the yard of the residence where it lived.
Capt. Tim Svenson of the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office confirmed that piece of the incident that unfolded about 8:30 a.m. in the 600 block of Southeast Border Lane.
Amanda Marlene McCommons, 30, of McMinnville, the pit bull’s owner, and Celeste Bridgette Burnham, 25, of McMinnville, who owns the hound, were transported by McMinnville Fire Department ambulance to the Willamette Valley Medical Center for treatment of their injuries. McCommons sustained a broken arm and lacerations to her arms and fingers when she was bitten by her own dog in an effort to restrain the animal. She underwent surgery. Burnham sustained less serious injuries and was released following treatment.
McMinnville police gave this account:
Several officers, including Sgt. Mike Huber, responded to the attack. The first officer to arrive, Brendt Galloway, saw a pit bull that he estimated weighed 70 pounds attacking Burnham, who was attempting to protect her hound from being mauled by the pit bull. When McCommons intervened, she was attacked, too.
As Galloway approached, the pit bull broke away and advanced toward the officer, who pulled his duty weapon and fired three shots at the dog, which was pronounced dead at the scene. An unidentified bystander took the hound to the Baker Street Animal Hospital for treatment. It underwent surgery.
Svenson is head of the sheriff's office Operations Division which oversees Yamhill County Dog Control. He said McCommons was issued six citations Thursday. They include dog at large, menacing dog and vicious dog. She was cited by dog control officer Jodi Whiting following a review of the McMinnville police reports submitted by officers who responded. Those reports contained interviews with McCommons and Burnham and individuals who witnessed and/or intervened in the incident. McCommons is scheduled to appear in circuit court at 9 a.m. Thursday. Fines for the citations total $1,232.
The hound was not licensed, according to Svenson , who said Burnham will be given a warning and told to license the dog by a specific date.
McCommons owned two pit bulls, and the second dog was not involved in the incident, but it was not licensed either. Dog control took custody of the animal but it has been conditionally released back to her. McCommons must adhere to certain stipulations ordered by dog control, and any future violations related to the animal could result in the county permanently seizing the dog.
"The pit bull was in the front yard playing fetch with the owner and her children," Svenson said. "The hound was walking by with its owner and was on a leash. You can't have an uncontrolled or an unconfined dog. You have to contain your dog."
Svenson added, "Even though you trust your dog in its own environment, it's unpredictable what will happen when that dog is around other dogs. You do not know how your dog will react."
McCommons and the children were playing with the dog in the front yard.Svenson suggests to "play it safe" by taking such activity to a fenced back yard.
"It can be the friendliest dog in the world around your family, but if the right dog walks by, that might be the thing that sets your dog off."
Galloway has been a patrol officer with the McMinnville police for about two years, according to Capt. Matt Scales. He remains on duty and was not placed on leave pending an incident review related to the firing of his weapon.
"That is normal protocol in a situation like this," Scales said. "It is being done right now. All of the reports that include information and witness statements will go to a sergeant (Tim Symonds). They will then come to me and on to the chief (Ron Noble). On the surface, I believe everything was done within our policies. This (the shooting) is an unfortunate part of the job."
It was the second time in about three months that a law enforcement agency in the county has been involved in the fatal shooting of a dog. Sheriff's deputy Justin Brester shot a boxer lab/pit bull mix in late April in a side yard at a residence on Northwest Florence Street in Sheridan. The dog was owned by Pat Henry.
He and the sheriff's office told conflicting stories of what happened. Based on the account given by the sheriff's office, the shooting was justified. Based on a story told by Henry, the dog should not have been shot. By all accounts, Brester acted within department policy, according to Svenson .
"The deputy had a split second to protect himself," Svenson said. "Whether it be an animal or a human being, we follow the same use of force guidelines. It's always the same time frame. It's a split-second decision."
In late May, a rural Amity homeowner acted in self-defense when he fired four shots at a charging pit bull, according to the sheriff's office. No citations were issued and the case was not referred to the district attorney's office.
The property owner said two pit bulls he was unfamiliar with chased a cat up a tree. When he went out to shoo them off, one fled and the other charged him. Less than one hour before the incident, there was a 9-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl on the property, and they could have been placed in harm's way had the incident taken place then.
(News Register - July 14, 2012)
