Mayor
defends pit-bull shooting
MOUNT VERNON — The mayor defended police officers’ decision to shoot
dead a pit bull that had attacked a would-be good Samaritan who mistakenly
thought the dog was attacking a 12-year-old boy.
“If the police did not
shoot the dog, the victim would have suffered even more severe injury,” Mayor
Ernest Davis said Monday.
“Witnesses reported that
the dog was savagely working his way up the victim’s arm,” the mayor added.
Police also said Monday
afternoon that they’ve previously had contact with the dog and its owner, Jamal
McDowell, who has been issued various violations of city ordinances in relation
to animal control.
The would-be good
Samaritan, Jason McCrae, 29, was badly bitten on the arm and was taken to
Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, officials said.
Police shot dead the
5-year-old dog named Mike. The dog was the 12-year-old’s family pet and was
jumping on the boy to play when the incident began, said the boy’s uncle, Lance
McDowell.
The attack happened about
12:30 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of Union Avenue, which is around the corner
from the boy’s home.
Neighbors said they heard
screaming during the attack and were unable to stop the dog from attacking
McCrae.
When police arrived, the
dog refused to follow commands to release the victim and “was shot three times
before the victim was released from its grip,” according to a release from
Davis’ office.
McDowell, who did not see
the attack, said the owner tried to stop Mike. He said Mike was playful, not
vicious. He said Mike was trying to protect his owner and was acting
territorial.
“It was all a misunderstanding,”
McDowell said of the attack.
McDowell said he
understood why police shot Mike, but said they could have used a tranquilizer.
He said he thought the boy
and his father would be “destroyed” that Mike was killed. The boy’s brother,
Malcom Easley, 19, agreed with McDowell.
“He’s going to be upset
for a while,” Easley said.
Easley said the dog was
part of the family. He said Mike would run loose and play with other children
on the block without problems.