[Dewey-Darrow] Response from Police Chief re: Pit Bull Issue

[SugrCreek at aol.com]

Neighbors- with Chief Eddington's permission i am passing this on to  
neighbors- this is the official police response to my question of why it took so  
long for the EPD to secure this dog on Sunday to ensure the safety of 
everyone  in the area:
 
f
  
____________________________________

Dear Ms.  Fonda,
 
 
 
Here are some facts that I  hope will put the Pit Bull issue in  
perspective. 
    1.  Officer responded  to the call and identified the residence of the 
offending  animal. 
    1.  While sorting out  this rather emotional issue – for both families –
 a youthful member of the  family that owned the offending dog was arrested 
for disorderly conduct. At  this point the police sergeant on the scene 
made a decision to attempt to  de-escalate the situation. He made certain the 
dog was secured appropriately  then advised the owners of the dog that the 
Animal Warden would finalize the  issuance of tickets and the future status of 
the dog on Monday  morning. 
    1.  During this event  at the house where the offending dog lives, the 
bite to the human was  unreported. Consequently the officers were sorting 
out a dog fight, not an  incident where a person had been harmed.  
    1.  On Sunday afternoon  Alderman Wilson asked me to review the matter 
to determine if all possible  steps had been taken. 
I asked the Sergeant who  handled the initial call to re-contact the owner 
of the dog and request that  they voluntarily bring their dog to the animal 
shelter. They complied with the  Sergeant’s request 
    1.  On Monday the  family agreed to euthanize their dog. 
    1.  Known facts drive  the department’s response to all issues. Once a 
reasonable path has been  selected it is difficult to reverse course 
especially after a lawful arrest  has been made and an agreement which defused he 
situation has been  made. 
I hope these comments bring  some clarity to an emotional and hectic  
situation. 
If you have additional  questions please feel free to contact me. 
Richard  Eddington 
Chief of Police   
_reddington at cityofevanston.org_ (mailto:reddington at cityofevanston.org)  
847-866-5005



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