Posted on 04/09/2009 11:19:40 PM PDT by Chet 99
Published: April 10, 2009 12:00 am
Pit bull attacks four in Peabody
By Bruno Matarazzo Jr. Staff Writer
PEABODY — An out-of-control pit bull mauled two women inside a mobile home on Route 1 and attacked a police officer trying to save them yesterday.
The women and the officer were taken by ambulance to Salem Hospital with injuries.
One woman was airlifted to a Boston hospital, and the second woman was undergoing surgery at Salem Hospital, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
A third woman, who residents say is the live-in girlfriend of the dog owner, was taken to the hospital with an injury to her back, according to neighbors.
The attack happened shortly before 5 p.m. at Mobile Estates at lot number 44. Neighbors said the victims were friends of the dog owner's girlfriend.
Kellyann Soye, 21, said she was pulling up her car at her friend's home across the street from where the attack took place when she saw the girlfriend outside screaming.
"She said, 'Help me! The dog's attacking my friends,'" Soye said.
Outside, there was blood everywhere. Neighbors called police.
Soye said she and her friends could only wait outside as they heard the women inside "screaming bloody murder."
Patrolman William Swaczyk was the first to arrive on the scene and found the dog pinning one woman to the floor, according to police Lt. John McCorry.
"He punched the dog a few times, and the dog turned on him," McCorry said of Swaczyk. The woman was able to get out of the home when the animal turned on Swaczyk.
"Once the dog latched on, he started punching him and doing anything he could to get the dog to release him," McCorry said.
At the same time, the third woman was found hiding inside a room and was helped out by Patrolmen Mark Bettencourt, Leo Cunha and Tony Santos. The officers broke a window to free the woman.
The dog owner, identified by police as Brian Stevens, 27, arrived on scene shortly afterward and was able to secure the pit bull in its cage, McCorry said.
An animal control officer arrived at the scene and first removed a dog inside the girlfriend's car. The girlfriend's dog was not involved in the attack but was taken away because the women were taken to the hospital.
Police identified the victims as Cassandra Osgood, 23, of Danvers; Sarah Malave, 24, of Middleton; and Jamie Brickman, 27, of Peabody.
Police left the scene but returned a short time later to seize the pit bull.
Stevens, his eyes welled up with tears, walked out of the home with the dog on a leash and got it into a cage in the back of an animal control officer's cruiser.
The dog resisted going into the cage and started rattling around once the cage was locked.
Stevens declined to comment.
McCorry said the dog will be held for a time, but he did not know what its fate will be.
Neighbors were relieved to the see the dog taken away.
Colleen Marshall lives two homes down from where the attack occurred. Her pant leg was bloodied from helping one of the victims outside the home.
"They should have shot the dog long before they got the girl out of there," Marshall said. "There are tons of kids on this street."
McCorry said once the dog latched onto Swaczyk he was unable to use his gun to shoot the animal.
Swaczyk suffered an injury to his arm; he was treated at Salem Hospital and released, according to McCorry.
German pit bull owner detained after biting police officer
Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:21:17 PM · 21 of 21
1COUNTER-MORTER-68 to familyop
Pepper spray is more or less worthless in many cases(IMHO)
“Steel Rain” from my ol’Trench-Broom never fails,,,;0)
I don’t think he has a dime that a court could take,,,
The owner of that place is another story,,,
The thug made CAUSIS BELLI with me with the statement :
“SNITCHIN’ASS MUFUUGG’A I’LL SEND YO’ASS BACK TO SHREVEPORT
IN UH`BOX!!!!!!!!!!!(50-60’ away),,,(best I could hear)
Then his gibberish,,,blah,?blah,?blah,,,?
I’m standin’ there in my yard,leftside toward him with my
right in my pocket,,,
Full of .44,,,
Thugs then piled in the truck that the taxpayers paid for
and left...
Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies
“trailer park”- don’t have to go any further.
So you have some pit bull toting thug neighbor?
So you have some pit bull toting thug neighbor?
~~~
Fo’Sho!!!
I thought I pinged you to some of the threads you posted,,,
Some tonite,,,
Kanawa asked for an up-date,,,
I wanted to ask him to ping his PB list,,,
But,,,???
I take the thug’s word,,,FWIW...
Pit bulls. I wrote on another thread yesterday that I was jogging in a park yesterday and passed a woman who had two dogs off leash — one of them a pit, the other a boxer. The pit came for me, snarling, and the woman barely managed to grab it. The dog fought to get away and the boxer attacked it as the woman was holding it. Fortunately, the woman seemed to have the situation in hand. It was a very scary experience.
That seems typical of pits to me,,,
No sleep for me tonite,,,
Guard Duty,,,
Waitin’ for the thug to send me “IN A BOX”,,,
Such is life...
“Trailer park”, “live-in girlfriend”...
I wonder what kind of odds are off the owner being a doctor or accountant vs. a “community organizer” or “distributor”.
It will not go easily for you in the Re-Education Camps.
Well I know about Peabody. What are the other two, Kenny?"
"Marblehead and Athole, Governor."
Sorry that happened. I really hate people that walk their dogs off leash.
I really hate people that walk their dogs off leash.
_____
That’s why I love the trails around Baltimore’s several resevoirs. I can almost always find a trailhead (fire roads, usually) where no one else is out and about, take their leashes off and let ‘em go. It’s way more fun for them and me.
I don't have a PB list.
Well, if the pit bull is in the middle of mauling someone, the cop better be a damned good shot if he’s going to use his gun... could just as easily hit the victim of the attack.
Agreed! It would have to be outdoors, where the backdrop could be seen to be clear and the muzzle of the weapon right against the animal and pointed in a safe direction (from the side into the rear part of the spine).
Police should participate in pit bull anatomy classes, IMO. When bear populations get thick and nosy, smart ranchers learn about bear anatomy.
Shooting a pit bull is safer, though, when it’s done outside and away from potential mauling victims.
I should have specified that I live in the city; the only time my dog’s loose is in the dog park. I suppose in the country it wouldn’t matter. :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.