Posted on 01/18/2008 4:43:05 PM PST by indcons
One of the three victims of San Francisco Zoo tiger attack was intoxicated and admitted to yelling and waving at the animal while standing atop the railing of the big cat enclosure, police said in court documents filed Thursday.
Paul Dhaliwal, 19, told the father of Carlos Sousa Jr., 17, who was killed, that the three yelled and waved at the tiger but insisted they never threw anything into its pen to provoke the cat, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.
"As a result of this investigation, (police believe) that the tiger may have been taunted/agitated by its eventual victims," according to Inspector Valerie Matthews, who prepared the affidavit. Police believe that "this factor contributed to the tiger escaping from its enclosure and attacking its victims," she said.
Sousa's father, Carlos Sousa Sr., said Dhaliwal told him the three stood on a 3-foot-tall metal railing a few feet from the edge of the tiger moat. "When they got down they heard a noise in the bushes, and the tiger was jumping out of the bushes on him (Paul Dhaliwal)," the documents said.
Police found a partial shoe print that matched Paul Dhaliwal's on top of the railing, Matthews said in the documents.
The papers said Paul Dhaliwal told Sousa that no one was dangling his legs over the enclosure. Authorities believe the tiger leaped or climbed out of the enclosure, which had a wall 4 feet shorter than the recommended minimum.
The affidavit also cites multiple reports of a group of young men taunting animals at the zoo, the Chronicle reported.
Mark Geragos, an attorney for the Dhaliwal brothers, did not immediately return a call late Thursday by The Associated Press for comment. He has repeatedly said they did not taunt the tiger.
Calls to Sousa and Michael Cardoza, an attorney for the Sousa family, also weren't returned.
Toxicology results for Dhaliwal showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.16 — twice the legal limit for driving, according to the affidavit. His 24-year-old brother, Kulbir, and Sousa also had alcohol in their blood but within the legal limit, Matthews wrote.
All three also had marijuana in their systems, Matthews said. Kulbir Dhaliwal told police that the three had smoked pot and each had "a couple shots of vodka" before leaving San Jose for the zoo on Christmas Day, the affidavit said.
Police found a small amount of marijuana in Kulbir Dhaliwal's 2002 BMW, which the victims rode to the zoo, as well as a partially filled bottle of vodka, according to court documents.
Investigators also recovered messages and images from the cell phones, but apparently nothing incriminating in connection with the tiger attack, the Chronicle reported.
Zoo spokesman Sam Singer said he had not seen the documents but believed the victims did taunt the animal, even though they claim they hadn't.
"Those brothers painted a completely different picture to the public and the press," Singer said. "Now it's starting to come out that what they said is not true."
Yeah, and that’s just what he’s ADMITTING. The truth is slowly coming out, so it might turn out they did lots more.
One thing sure, the tiger knew who she was after.
‘multiple reports of a group of young men taunting animals’
‘blood alcohol level was 0.16’
‘All three also had marijuana in their systems’
‘the three stood on a 3-foot-tall metal railing’
‘painted a completely different picture to the public and the press’
MSM conclusion = Tiger’s fault.
Cops found synthetic urine. These guys can’t even pee truthfully
These guys probably deserve an exhibition cage of their own, however the cages should be assclown proof. The zoo has to bear responsibility for poorly designed containment of dangerous carnivores. What if the animals attacked an innocent bystander rather than the fools?
And I thought the last reports were (from their lawyer) that they were “only dancing and singing and laughing?”
So, were they dancing and singing and laughing on top of the two inch wide, slightly rounded rail?
Can a drunk adult really balance on a thin rail like that?
The wheels of justice turn slowly, and you can bet the Dimwit Brothers will change their story yet again.
And then the officials killed the TIGER———I won’t say any more or I’ll be in trouble,but the tiger was never at fault.
exactly... the zoo is still at fault for not meeting the minimum recommended requirment...
Taunt a Tiger
Win a Darwin Award
Too damn bad the tiger had to die due to these A-hole’s stupidity.
Hold muh beer and...
is their lawyer “thee” Mark Geragos? of the Winona Ryder shoplifting incident Mark Geragos? the Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson Mark Geragos? the Susan MacDougal Mark Geragos?
Geragos ain’t getting the slam dunk he was hoping for....
They could have tranquilized it-—the killing was unnecessary.
No free will? Are you certain of that?
Tiger experts over and over again have said that it would take extraordinary provocation to get a tiger to leap out of it’s enclosure and attack a zoo patron. Extraordinary provocation, not a five year old making faces or yelling. Even if the wall was 4 feet shorter than the recommended height. There is no evidence a tiger has ever got out of that enclosure in 67 years.
The zoo is 100% liable for the safety of everyone there, even if they ARE dipshits.
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