Diltz is a Cumberland County Animal Control officer. She was on patrol the night before Memorial Day and responded to a call about two pit bulls roaming through a neighborhood. A neighbor had reported the loose dogs and had managed to herd them into the fenced-in backyard of a vacant house.
Diltz did as she was trained, tossing treats toward the dogs before entering the yard, and she got wagging tails in response - a good sign. But after she went into the yard, the dogs attacked, ferociously.
Her metal baton and can of pepper spray were no match for the dogs, who each weighed about 60 pounds. She was certain, she told an Observer reporter, that she was about to die.
The soldier who had called in the stray-dog report was still around, however, and he may have saved Diltz's life by throwing bricks at the dogs. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where it took nearly 50 stitches to close her wounds.
This raises a serious question for county leaders: Why aren't Animal Control officers equipped to protect themselves from such attacks? The officers are facing considerable danger every time they deal with a vicious dog.
Would anyone propose sending sheriff's deputies out into dangerous situations so lightly defended?
Of course not. Deputies have batons and pepper spray too, but they also have Tasers and Glocks - and fast backup support when they need it.
Animal Control officers are also trained in the use of Tasers, but the department doesn't have enough to go around. Diltz didn't have one. And the county won't allow Animal Control officers to carry sidearms.
Those policies need rethinking, and quickly, before another officer has to endure such an attack, or something worse. The Taser shortage must be corrected immediately.
The county also should rethink its policy on arming Animal Control officers. A great deal more training would be required, of course, but in an attack like the one on Diltz, a firearm could be the difference between life and death for an officer.
"We're out there on our own in the middle of the night," Diltz said. "We need help."
She's right. Let's be sure she and her fellow officers get it.
[I recommend all officers go through the police academy - just like patrol officers. They're the first responders dealing with vicious animals, attacks in progress, and irate owners who may also be criminals involved in dog fighting or drug dealing or with outstanding warrants.
Stop pretending that they don't do a dangerous job. No, every single day is not filled with danger, but is a patrol officer's day always filled with bank robberies and murders? No.]
(Fay Observer - Jul 3, 2013)
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