According to a letter written to sheriff’s Capt. Eric Bosko from First Assistant Law Director Michael J. Kemerer, “Richland County Dog Warden David Jordan conducted an investigation and came to the conclusion that the dog attack was provoked.
Upon speaking with the father of the victim, the Mansfield Law Director’s Office has some concerns that the attack may have been unprovoked.”
The dog tore off Billy Harden’s right ear lobe and damaged his neck, his dad said.
Surgery and other medical bills for the boy, who lives at 1387 Walker Ave. East, are unpaid, according to the boy’s father, Bill Harden. The boy may face additional surgeries. Harden said he has medical insurance through his employer.
The dog’s owner’s insurance company is refusing to pay the bills, because of the citation issued by the dog warden, Harden said. According to the written citation obtained by the News Journal, the dog’s owner initially told the dog warden’s office he would pay for the medical bills.
Harden said he asked Jordan why the dog owner was not cited for having a dangerous dog; instead, he was cited for failing to control a dog. Deputy Dog Warden Ray Scott wrote the citation.
“The dog warden’s office issued the citation without a thorough investigation, solely basing the incident on the word of the dog owner, who wasn’t present during the dog bite attack,” Harden said.
The black Lab owned by Scott H. Baer, 1380 Bonnie Drive, attacked the boy, who was trying to take the dog back home to his owner after finding him running in the neighborhood. Billy had gone and retrieved the dog, Dakota, on past occasions with no problem, his dad said.
This time, Dakota was chasing a female dog. Billy eventually was holding onto his collar when Dakota saw the other dog again and then dragged Billy and attacked him in a neighbor’s backyard, Bill Harden said.
The News Journal interviewed Harden and his son at their home last week.
Harden said Jordan never talked to his son until July, and did so only after Harden contacted Richland County commissioners.
Kemerer’s letter called for the investigation to be re-opened.
“Accordingly, the Mansfield Law Director’s Office would request this same incident be investigated by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office so that a separate determination can be made as to whether the dog attacked was provoked and, if it was not provoked, whether the dog in question caused a human physical harm,” Kemerer wrote.
“Should your investigation find that the dog’s unprovoked attacked caused physical harm to a human, then please contact Michael Kemerer in the Mansfield Law Director’s Office so that steps can be taken to have the dog designated dangerous or vicious,” the letter said.
Harden said Bosko took a taped statement from Billy on Oct. 30, along with a statement from Billy’s brother, Blake, 12, who witnessed the attack.
Friday, the dog’s owner referred all questions to attorney Rob Roby, who said everyone agreed to the facts that the boy went to catch the dog and a neighbor kicked the dog in the ribs.
“It is a civil matter,” he said.
Roby said there is also the issue of double jeopardy. His client, Baer, already paid a fine. He said his client is not unsympathetic, and went to Grant Hospital with the boy and his dad in the same car.
“Why re-open this now?” he said.
Friday, Jordan said the boy grabbed the dog’s collar and provoked the bite.
However, the initial written citation, dated March 29, stated Harden told him an unidentified person kicked the dog for no reason. Harden said he never said that, and that he was never questioned at that time by anyone from the dog warden’s office.
“Every dog when pushed has its pop button. I can only do the fair thing and the consistent thing and I do it to the letter of the law. I view this as a provoked bite,” the dog warden said. “My heart goes out to the family. Now because of some dispute of insurance, which has nothing to do with my department, I gave all the records to the law director’s office if they want to make some other determination. We’ve interviewed the son. I interviewed the dog owner. We’ve gathered the evidence that we could,” Jordan said Friday.
The state’s legal definition of a “vicious dog” is one that without provocation meets any of the conditions:
• Has killed or caused serious injury to any person.
• Has killed another dog.
• Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull.
“Without provocation” means a dog was not teased, tormented or abused by a person, or that the dog was not coming to the aid or defense of a person who was not engaged in illegal activity.
Harden said the dog warden was unprofessional in his demeanor and derelict in his duties.
“He refused to investigate, even when ordered by the commissioners,” Harden said.
“When the commissioners ordered him to actually investigate Jordan came out and spoke to my son on July 23 for about 20 minutes,” Harden said.
“He didn’t take a single note or use a tape recorder,” Harden said. “I asked him about witness statements and I asked him about the witness statement from the individual he alleged kicked the dog and he said he didn’t know who the individual was, but I had told him, I had given him the man’s address previously,” he said. Harden said Billy filled out a written witness statement, which his dad dropped off at the dog warden’s office.
Harden said he is considering seeking charges against the dog warden.
(Mansfield News Journal - Nov 4, 2012)
