Photo by afagen.

Yesterday around noon, D.C. resident Beverly McIntyre and her partner were playing with their dogs in the field near Klingle Mansion in Rock Creek Park. Their two dogs, an 8-year-old Golden Retriever mix and a 2-year-old hound mix, were off the leash, playing in the field. Before they knew what had happened, they saw a Parks Police officer with his gun drawn, threatening to shot their dogs if they weren’t leashed immediately.

McIntyre says she understands that she was breaking the Rock Creek Park rules by having her dogs unleashed but felt that the officer’s response was a gross overreaction to dogs playing in a field. She says at no time did the dogs come near the officer. After the officer’s threat, McIntyre and her partner called their dogs in and immediately leashed them. The officer then told them that their dogs were dangerous and threatening and next time he would take them to jail.

McIntyre and her partner went home and wrote about their experience on the DC Dog Yahoo listserv and soon found that this Park Police officer’s reaction wasn’t exactly unique. We’ve all read about Parrot, who was shot and killed in Adams Morgan, as well as many other police overreactions to dogs.

McIntyre and her partner aren’t sure what their next steps will be. They are considering getting together a joint letter addressed to the Parks Police Chief regarding the incident and others dog owners have faced in Rock Creek Park. Mostly they’d like better training of officers regarding how to handle dogs as well as a public statement that this officer acted incorrectly. They believe the officer acted in an unsafe manner in a public place, where on a nice day many people and kids were nearby.

DCist tried to contact the Parks Police’s Rock Creek Park station but no one answered the phone. When trying to leave a voicemail, DCist was unable to because the voicemail inbox was full.