Florida: 'The deputy put his arm up. The Pit Bull was going for his neck and head. He tripped while backing up from the dog. He used an entire can of pepper spray on this dog and they had to shoot it'

MARY ESTHER, FLORIDA --  A pizza delivery man was hospitalized Sunday night after being attacked by a pit bull on Brian Circle.

The Pit Bull then attacked the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy who responded to the call.

The Pit Bull, named Capo, was shot and killed.

Note:  In the article, they have the Pit Bull's name listed as Cupo. However, the listed residents and their relatives refer to a Pit Bull, seen below, as Capo.

 

 

This is the interior of the Good Samaritan's car. They beat the Pit Bull

with a pipe then dragged the victim into their car while they called 911.

“It was a big strong dog,” said OCSO spokeswoman Michele Nicholson, adding that the pit bull had not been neutered. PAWS Director Dee Thompson said Capo weighed over a hundred pounds and was “all muscle.”

According to Nicholson, the homeowner said the dog ran from the backyard at 560 Brian Circle, chased and then attacked the pizza delivery driver, 19-year-old John Wade.

Thompson said the driver had been instructed to call the homeowners before knocking due to the dog, but he did not and instead knocked on the front door. When the homeowner opened the side door to reprimand the driver for not calling, the dog slipped out and attacked him.

If the pizza guy is knocking on the front door, why would he open the side door? If he wanted the pizza guy to call first - due to his vicious Pit Bull - why wouldn't he simply put the vicious Pit Bull into a bedroom and shut the door before OPENING ANY DOOR TO HIS RESIDENCE? 

Thompson said the Pit Bull was so strong it dragged the grown man from the front yard, into the street and all the way across the street where it continued its attack.

Good Samaritans heard the young man screaming "Help! Help!" and stopped. A man jumped from his vehicle and beat the Pit Bull with a pipe until it released the delivery driver then he and his wife pulled the victim into her car (you can see the blood all over the floor mats of her vehicle). They called 911 and you can hear their 911 call at the end of this post.

A tourniquet was used to stop the bleeding until EMS arrived and transported the teen to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center. He suffered extensive injuries to his lower leg and foot that required surgery.

After the attack, OCSO K9 handler Deputy Cutler Petersen and another deputy arrived to assist the homeowner in restraining the dog outside 541 Brian Circle.

According to Nicholson, the deputies helped the homeowner get its harness and leash attached, but the woman wasn't strong enough to control her own dog and the Pit Bull pulled the leash out of her hands, charged and attacked  Deputy Petersen, who then used pepper spray in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the attack.

In trying to get away from the charging Pit Bull, Deputy Petersen tripped over a raised flower bed and the dog lunged at his head and neck area. The Pit Bull bit down on Deputy Petersen’s arm as he covered his head and neck. The other deputy tried to pull the Pit Bull off Deputy Petersen, but he would not release his bite.

 

The deputy then shot the Pit Bull multiple times. The dog died at the scene.

What was the woman, the Pit Bull's owner, doing all this time - after she let go of the leash and watched her own dog attack the police officer? Just standing there?

PAWS Director Dee Thompson said the Pit Bull had four bullets in his body and two in his head. She added that pepper spray is generally not effective at detaining dogs and may just agitate them even more.

Deputy Petersen was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, where he underwent surgery to repair his damaged arm. He was in surgery until midnight, Nicholson said.

“He used an entire can of pepper spray on this dog and they had to shoot it,” she said. “The deputy put his arm up. The dog was going for his neck and head. He tripped while backing up from the dog.”

The attacks happened just before 8 p.m.

 

Donielle Huie aka Donielle La Torella is listed as a resident.

Judi Grady aka Judith La Torella is listed as a resident.

Thompson said Capo had previously attacked a woman. At the dog’s hearing where he could have officially been deemed dangerous, the bite victim did not bother to show up as is required in those hearings, and so the case had to be dropped.

This woman is responsible for these newest victims. They should sue her - and the Pit Bull owner who chose to keep his mauler after the first attack.

Residents of the quiet neighborhood behind the Santa Rosa Mall came home to find the street lit up with emergency personnel and what some, at first, thought was a body in the front yard.

PIT BULL KNOWN IN NEIGHBORHOOD FOR BEING VICIOUS
Blanca Zapata-Gomez, who lives a few blocks away, said she and her husband had several encounters with the Pit Bull and that her husband started carrying a big stick when they walked.

Eventually, they gave up and started walking at the mall, instead, she said.
“We walked in the neighborhood every night, but we’ve stopped now,” she said.
Most recently, she was walking by the fenced-in neighborhood park and was startled by what she described as a loud “whomp” on the fence.

 

The owners were on the other side of the park and the dog had spotted her and run over, stopping only when he hit the fence.

She said the dog was “short, fat and very strong,” and that she was worried the fence wouldn’t be strong enough to hold him.

“Thank God the gates were closed,” she said.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

911 AUDIO CALL:

(News Herald - Dec 11, 2017)