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."
Cops found synthetic urine. These guys can’t even pee truthfully
Thats the whole point of Moby Dick, you can’t take vengeance on an animal.
Their behavior has NOTHING to do with whether the zoo is responsible for that wild animal getting out of the enclosure. I don’t care if the boys were high on cocaine AND heroin AND were stone drunk, and throwing boulders at the animal. That tiger should NOT have been able to get out of that enclosure — period. MANY people do all kinds of things at zoos with open enclosures housing the animals. These boys were not the first, and they will NOT be the last. If you house wild animals and make money letting the public in to see them, then you better make damn sure that NOTHING will allow them to get OUT and eat one of the public!
My Dad literally screamed at me the other night right in front of my children at the dinner table when he was visiting, because of the boys being 100% responsible for getting mauled by the tiger. My children just stared at him. I told him (in front of everyone) that the only reason why he was freaking out about the topic was because of race (my dad is, sadly, the biggest racist I know — he defines the word —and I truly think it is overused — except as it describes my dad). Any “victim” of any crime who isn’t white, my dad finds a way to blame them for whatever happened to them. But that’s another story— and another topic for another thread on FR.
The cat was going to have to be put down anyway.
I can see why the “youts” were initially reluctant to cooperate with authorities.
The tiger was drunk?
The zoo is 100% liable for the safety of everyone there, even if they ARE dipshits.
What kind of an jackass would get drunk and then go to the zoo?
oh brother... yeah... that's all exactly the same as securing a wild beast so that it does not attack innocent bystanders...
Nanny stater.
Yes, as police reveal the evidence the boys' story will change to fit it.
It had come out that footprints were found on the railing...voila!...their version of the story has them standing on the railing.
When new evidence comes out (I hope), they'll tailor their story to fit the new evidence. It infuriates me that Geragos gets to play this game. There should be some way to force them to talk to police.
Yes the truth is slowly coming out...no slingshots....they were cooperative...no incriminating cell phone evidence...no shoe in the moat...no dangling....the zoo’s defenses keep falling apart.
You know, if I want to avoid dangerous encounters, I don't go seeking them out - and I don't expect the government or the zoo or the company to protect me from the dangers if I do seek them out.
I don't go bungee jumping, on roller coasters or scuba diving with sharks. I know better.
The propaganda war has really done a number on a bunch of freepers. Now, having a few drinks and waving at a tiger is tantamount to being unfit to live and abdicates all of a zoo’s responsibilities for patron safety. Unbelievable.
I take it you were there.
Propaganda, indeed! **snort**
Why do you people keep this up, he did not admit anything, the whole statement is an allegation made by the cops to get a bogus warrant. It is not a proved fact.
There are some of us here who remember who Mark Geragos and Susan McDougal are...
I agree. IIRC, one of the punks tormenting the tiger was mauled about 300 feet from the tiger pit. The tiger probably followed a blood scent to track him.
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