Police dogs are still officers
Judge gives Barberton man maximum of year for punching K-9 member
Beacon Journal staff writer
Robert Dulabhan voiced his remorse in court Wednesday, seeking a break for punching a police officer last spring.
But the judge didn't bite.
The same could not be said of the officer, who, while responding to a call in May, chomped at Dulabhan's head before the Barberton man retaliated with the punch that landed him in court.
Despite the bite wound, Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Spicer said Dulabhan's reaction was unacceptable.
``An officer is an officer -- whether he has two legs or four,'' Spicer told Dulabhan before sentencing him to a year in prison for assaulting Charon, a K-9 police dog. ``They're entitled to the same respect as other officers.''
Dulabhan, 57, could not have picked a worse judge from whom to seek leniency for his assault on Charon, a Springfield Township K-9. Spicer is a card-carrying member of the Humane Society of the United States and frequent contributor to animal-related causes. She imposed the maximum sentence.
Neither Charon, an 8-year-old German shepherd, nor his partner of six years, Springfield Patrolman Robert Scherer, appeared in court.
Reached afterward, Scherer said he was pleased with Spicer's sentence and that prosecutors insisted on pursuing the charge of assault on a police dog.
``I think it's awesome. It's the first time that assault charges actually went forward for someone hitting him. Finally, Charon's being recognized as a police officer,'' Scherer said.
The confrontation with Dulabhan occurred after Lakemore police responded to a call from Dulabhan's daughter, who said she was afraid because her father was drunk, angry and claiming to have a gun.
Dulabhan had earlier been found by police sleeping or passed out in his car. He was driven to his daughter's house to sleep it off and grew angry, demanding his car keys.
Prosecutors say Dulabhan threatened officers, and they called for backup from Springfield police.
Police say that Dulabhan, an Army Vietnam War veteran, shouted: ``I'll take a shotgun and kill you just like I did in 'Nam.''
When Dulabhan advanced toward police and refused to show his hands, Scherer sent in Charon.
Prosecutors say Charon bit Dulabhan on the head, and Dulabhan responded by slugging the dog in the nose.
Charon charged again and bit Dulabhan while Scherer tried to handcuff the man. When Dulabhan still resisted, Charon again bit him and Scherer used pepper spray on him. Scherer was then able to handcuff Dulabhan, who was treated at Akron General Medical Center for his injuries.
Dulabhan pleaded guilty to assaulting a police dog, a fifth-degree felony, and aggravated menacing, a misdemeanor. He told court officials he remembered little of the event, except being bitten by Charon.
Prior to sentencing, Spicer recounted Dulabhan's long history of criminal conduct dating to 1963. She noted that alcohol and violence have always coincided with his legal woes.
While Dulabhan apologized, saying his attack on Charon ``should never have happened,'' his lawyer, Mark Weisman, asked that Dulabhan receive treatment for his alcoholism, which the lawyer said was the ``driving force'' behind his client's problems.
Weisman and Dulabhan's family declined to comment after the sentencing.