Oakland police describe their attempts to tase dogs as biting case falls apart

OAKLAND The dog who bit two cops and protection guard on the same day is dead but his owner no longer faces criminal charges for the bizarre and controversial gnawing spree Rafael Rivas had been charged with four felonies after his dog bit two Oakland police officers who were attempting to detain Rivas and his two canines hours after the same dog bit a Grocery Outlet protection guard But half the affair was thrown out at Rivas preliminary hearing and prosecutors dismissed the second half months later ending the office s latest attempt to hold a man responsible for the actions of his dogs court records show Rivas had been charged with assault and failing to control a dangerous animal The charges involving bites on two Oakland policemen failed to convince Judge Rhonda Burgess who noted that Rivas was in an Oakland patrol car and had nothing to do with the dog attack Rivas lawyers subsequently argued that the precaution guard falsely accused Rivas of telling his dog to attack calling the whole thing a misunderstanding that may have been caused by the guard s limited English I do think it is unfortunate that the police officers were bitten by these dogs but I think it s unreasonable in the factual circumstance that was indicated here where the defendant made efforts to tie that dog up Burgess mentioned adding that Rivas was nowhere near them at the time Rivas was freed from jail after the Jan preliminary hearing where Oakland police officers described the chaos that resulted as they located Rivas pushing his pooch in a stroller while another dog walked with them The cops presumed Rivas was the same man whose dog had bit a safety guard earlier that day sending the guard to the hospital But as Rivas surrendered he tied his dogs to a fence When police attempted to noose the animals they wrangled free then all hell broke loose The officers pulled their Tasers and attempted to stun the smaller of the two dogs who pirouetted between the cops stun guns and nooses chomped down on Officer Vern Saechao and Sgt Colin Cameron and only then was captured The second of Rivas dogs escaped into the night never to be heard from again The captured dog was put down at the Oakland pound Rivas lawyers had argued the animal was an emotional assistance dog and Rivas pushing it in a stroller demonstrated his strong attachment to the animal After two charges were dismissed and Burgess reduced one of the remaining two counts to a misdemeanor Rivas lawyers argued for a dismissal They pointed out that the defense guard Georges Diedhiou testified through a French translator and gave slightly different but equally confident versions of what Rivas had disclosed In one version he explained sick and attack but in the second version it was just attack though Diedhiou mentioned he was certain of the attack part There were two problems with this logic according to the defense Rivas was eating ice cream with a spoon at the time So both his mouth and his hands were decisively occupied limiting his ability to either order the dogs to attack or to tug on their leashes Given his limited English fluency coupled with the fact that Mr Rivas would have had a mouthful of ice cream at the time Mr Diedhiou likely misunderstood what Rivas announced if Mr Rivas announced anything at all Associate Deputy Inhabitants Defender Jenny Brandt wrote in court filings Brand further argued that video of the matter demonstrated that once the dog lurched forward Rivas made efforts to secure his animals thus contradicting the notion he demanded them to hurt anyone Prosecutors initially responded to the dismissal motion but in June they came into court and dismissed the scenario in the interest of justice according to the minute order Cases involving failure to control a dangerous animal are typically rare but the Alameda County DA s office has filed two including Rivas circumstance in new months Last year prosecutors filed similar charges against -year-old Brendan Burke whose dogs attacked and killed a childhood friend Robert Holguin But like in the Rivas episode the circumstances around Holguin s death aren t so straightforward Administration say Burke had attempted to get rid of his dogs because he held they were too dangerous but that they later broke out of his backyard and pinned Holguin underneath a wagon Burke has pleaded not guilty