May 4, 2007
Leashless Dog Lands D.C. Man in Jail
A few weeks ago DCist dug into status of dogs in the district. Needless to say, pet owners and non-owners alike had a few things to say about the availability of dog parks and picking up poochs' poop. Now we hear about the case of Deputy White House Spokesman Dana Perino's husband, who spent a day in jail for his failure to keep his canine companion on a leash.
Back in November, Perino's husband, British businessman Peter McMahon, was walking their dog Henry — leashless — in Lincoln Park just east of the Capitol.According to the original complaint, obtained by Yeas & Nays, Officer Stephen Smith of the Park Police asked him to "gain control of" Henry, an 8-year-old Vizsla breed, and "put him on a leash."
McMahon replied that he didn't have a leash, so Smith issued him a violation notice, complete with a $25 fine. "Why don't you go chase down some squirrels," McMahon then suggested to the officer.
McMahon had 15 days to pay the fine, but he says the citation didn't give an address where a check could be sent. Finally, after mailing the $25 to an incorrect Park Police address, McMahon learned a warrant had been issued for his arrest. On April 12, when he actually went to Park Police headquarters to settle up, he was thrown in jail for several hours.
Has anyone else received a similar ticket and had your attempts at paying the fine thwarted? Is such a fine and imprisonment even reasonable? Are there any places in the city where dogs are allowed to roam leash-free?
Photo by Flickr user easement.
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McMahon replied that he didn't have a leash, so Smith issued him a violation notice, complete with a $25 fine. "Why don't you go chase down some squirrels," McMahon then suggested to the officer.
What an ass. DC cops need to go back to handcuffing people to mailboxes, or do they only do that to women in Georgetown?
Don't cum in your genes, dude.
Awesome!
This story made my day!
Dogs should be on leashes.
Cities aren't places for dogs to roam leash-free. Get a house with a fenced yard, some land in the country, or keep your dog on a leash.
Last sunday I was biking on the Crescent trail and a dog came out of nowhere [unleashed] causing a bit of a biking accident among the people ahead of me. The owner of the dog just shrugged and laughed. It spawned a discussion among some of the riders, when it was announced that there is a leash law in DC. Interestingly enough, this was the first time I've seen a dog run leash free in a public area [in DC], so who knows how often it is enforced.
A fine seems pretty reasonable, but I'm not sure if jailing the guy was the proper way to handle the situation. It seems we could make better use of our taxpayer money then putting away such fierce criminals. Pay the fine and get on with it, but jail time? I think not.
Let this tale be a lesson for the dude who refuses to put his 2 rambunctious Golden Retrievers on a leash in Columbia Heights.
It says he claimed that he tried for months to find a way to pay the fine. BS. You'd be hard pressed not to find a Park Police officer in this city on patrol (unlike MPD) or head down to HQ a lot sooner. Dumbass.
The Lymie had it coming. Don't mouth off to a cop who is only looking out for the owner's, dog's and public's well being.
Those 2 dang Golden Retrievers totally ruined my kickball game last sunday. I was so upset i had to rush right over to wonderland and console myself with a Stella. I so miss my nova days.
Park Police and Hill Police are more strict than MPD. Ever see Park Police in CH? Don't hold your breath.
Lindsay: What's this post all about? You wanna grab a drink, sit back and watch another dog park battle? The weather is nice, so you're taking an early Friday?
out of every 5 people i see walking their dogs only 1 has the materials to clean up after them. it's ridiculous.
leash your dog. curb your dog. just because you can't find a girlfriend doesn't mean i need to dodge your significant other's excrement.
Leashless dogs are the bike commuters of the animal world. Go back to Virginia.
1) Man breaks law
2) Poh-lease warns man he's breaking law, and asks him to comply with the law
3) Man doesn't comply with the law, so the cop (law enforcement officer) enforces the law (by issuing a ticket)
4) Man doesn't pay the ticket, so a warrant is issued for his arrest (as with any other criminal who doesn't do what he's supposed to do)
5) Man learns he's wanted, walks into a police office
6) Upon hearing that a wanted criminal is standing before them, the police lock him up as they're required to do
Seems pretty fair to me. BTW, the maximum fine for dog off a leash is something like $300, so I still think he got off easy.
I'm the owner of two dogs myself, and always keep them on a leash when in public areas. It's always the irresponsible dog owners (like the man mentioned above) who end up saying, "My dogs would never do something like this" after their dog attacks someone or causes injury.
The process for paying Park Police tickets is apparently very bad. I'm speaking only from what I've heard from others, but apparently there is no mechanism provided for paying them by mail. And Park Police officers don't know either. So you have to call their headquarters, then go there in person. Apparently it's not very easy to find.
I've heard this same sort of story (without the jail time) several times.
Have any of you bozos ever been to Lincoln Park? Where the heck do you come from? That park has about 20 dogs off of their leash at any given time. It's basically a "leash-law" exempt zone. Fining someone for for this would be no different from ticketing people for jaywalking on E Capitol after a Nationals game.
this is the wrong photo for this story - Lincoln Park is not a DC Government park, it is National Park Service park.
Last time I checked, Lincoln Park had a little fenced-in area where the leashless dogs couldn't get at the stroller crowd and the kiddiewinkies. There should be a dog version of this Crotchfruit Corral for runaway bitches and the sad people who can't seem to cleanup after them.
Haha, I like "Why don't you go chase down some squirrels." Bonus points if he said it with a heavy British accent, and then said "Good day to you, sir!" in a huff.
What's wrong with bike commuters from Virginia? Do you prefer car commuters?
dcvoterboy- This clearly isn't a snapshot from Lincoln Park, just a funny picture that I found relevant to the story. Sorry for the confusion.
Yes, I've been to Lincoln Park, where a huge leashless lab once knocked me over. I'm 6'2". It was quite a feat, but the owner was very apologetic.
What, he couldn't just get the officer sent to Guantanamo? What's the use of having WH connections if you're not going to use them?
closer:
if i'm walking my dog and he craps, i pick it up with the plastic bag i brought. then i throw it away in a trash can. then i don't have a bag with me because i used it. i'm not going to carry a poop-filled bag with me the whole walk just to reassure you that i know how to pick up my dog's crap.
also, i have a significant other who is a human. everyone that i know who has a dog also has a human significant other.
A couple of months ago, I was walking my dog on her leash, when a dog across the street - without a leash - thought it would be a good idea to charge across the street and attack my dog. Leashless dogs are just as much a danger to other dogs as they are to people.
And for the record, my dog beat the CRAP out of that dog.
People that can't control their dogs should have their dogs on leashes.
But please remember that quite often there's not a single legal off-leash area in an entire neighborhood. There's not one that I'm aware of in the entire Capitol Hill area.
The US Park Service owns pretty much every scrap of green space in this entire neighborhood.
People have tried for years to solve the off leash problem by petitioning Park Service to allow fenced dog runs. Park Service won't do it (even though supposedly they periodically review that decision).
So for now most parks have informal dog areas.
Is it a perfect solution? No. But I don't really know what the solution is as long as there are no dog runs allowed.
This story reminds me of the time when I was rollerblading down 16th street and some person's UNLEASHED Labradoodle took off after me. I was so scared that I dropped my AM/FM Cassette player and my favorite tape, 'Best of Josh Groban', fell out and broke. HMPHHHHHH!!!!
If you're curious, I'm almost certain that the sign pictured is from the Old Naval Hosptial on Penna. Ave. SE on Capitol Hill. The old fence looks even older with the aging sign.
Yet another thing that makes no sense about DC. You can be issued a citation without a mailing address, too, and then actually locked in a jail cell for not paying it. Un-frickin-believable. I am quite certain that other cities issue citations with mailing addresses printed on the back.
I don't get the leash law. Its the responsibility of the owner to control the dog, as if it can be done without a leash - why not. If the dog attacks someone - then the owner should be fined\arrested you name it.
But all of these preventive laws - just make me sick. Lets be logical and put all the kids on the leash as well. They too can run around and get under the cars.
Hillman-
You can run your dog off-leash in Congressional Cemetary. there's an organized group of dog owners who go there regularly and there is a membership fee, but I would happily pay it if I lived on the Hill and took my dogs there regularly.
"Yet another thing that makes no sense about DC. You can be issued a citation without a mailing address, too, and then actually locked in a jail cell for not paying it. Un-frickin-believable. I am quite certain that other cities issue citations with mailing addresses printed on the back."
Since park police are Federal, not local (not DC), you can't blame the city for this. Since you feel this was unreasonable, blame the feds for retaining too much micro-manage control over neighborhood areas of our city, and the parks in those neighborhoods.
I've got mixed feelings about Federal control of DC parkland. When the Feds want to, they do a good job. Which is more than can usually be said about DPR. Is a decently kept park that you don't have local control over but nonetheless can still use preferable to a crappy park you can call your own?
When the Homeland Security Advisory level is "Green" and people aren't assaulted on NPS property in DC, it will be time to put the sworn officers of the National Park Police on doggie duty.
BTW, Henry is one helluva great dog. We meet him in the park all the time. Never knew who his owners were, though.
"all of these preventive laws - just make me sick"
Yeah! Freakin' traffic lights!
Petworthian: Yes, Congressional cemetery is a great dog area. But from what I understand it's not an enclosed dog area, which is what many owners need
Also Congressional Cemetery is on the far edge of the Hill. It's a fifteen to twenty block trek for some. It's great for occasional walks, but not really a solution for daily walks.
Even having two dogs myself, I think the leash law is a good one. It doesn't always take much to set off even a well trained dog. That having been said, it sounds like the officer gave the guy a ticket because his pride was hurt. That's not a good enough reason, in my opinion. I've never been out there, but if there are multiple dogs running around, singling one owner out is asking for trouble.
speaking as a dog-lover, i will say this: anyone who truly cares about their dogs will keep their beloved pets on a leash while in the city. i've seen people walking dogs without leashes around dupont circle and i conclude they are too stupid or full of themselves to understand some very simple laws of nature--namely, that a) dogs off leashes get in fights with dogs on leashes; and b) dogs off leashes will run after squirrels and birds anywhere, even across the street, where--hello--there are buses, SUVs and cars roaring by. the leash laws are there for good reason. those who don't like them or won't respect them should move to the suburbs.
This is the most inconsistent city I have ever seen when it comes to enforcing laws. Some districts enforce leash laws, others do not. Some districts enforce drinking in public, and others do not. Some districts enforce crack dealing, and others do not. I agree there needs to be more dog parks in the city, but a law is a law. And the city needs to get more consistent with enforcing each law.