Tiara
07-22-2005, 02:41 PM
What the Denver attorney doesn't mention is that the only reason the ban held up is because of "home rule", the case was based on that and not that the ban is effective.
Pit bull foe joins fight for city ban
By Tory Brecht
Calling pit bulls a severe threat to public safety in cities across America,
Denver Assistant City Attorney Kory Nelson has made it a personal crusade to
help other communities thinking of banning the dog breed.
Nelson recently contacted Davenport Alderman Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, who is
leading the effort to create a pit bull ban in the wake of several dog
attacks around the Quad-Cities this summer.
And Ambrose plans on eliciting the help of Nelson and others when making his
case.
"When communities are facing a problem with pit bulls, they often don't have
someone experienced in this area," Nelson said. "They get flooded with anti
breed-specific legislation rhetoric and they get intimidated and bullied.
When I see a jurisdiction wrestling with this issue, I try to get them
information I think will help them and tell them the legal issues involved."
Denver was one of the first U.S. cities to prohibit pit bulls - a generic
name that usually refers to three specific breeds, the American pit bull
terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bulk terrier - and
Nelson has successfully defended the ban before the Colorado Supreme Court.
He is not the only public official offering his expertise to Davenport.
Council Bluffs, Iowa, enacted a pit bull ban earlier this year - despite
very aggressive and vocal opposition from pro-pit bull factions - and the
assistant city attorney there, Don Bauermeister, is a convert to Nelson's
cause.
If Davenport goes ahead with efforts to enact a ban, he said, the city's
elected officials must stand up to the inevitable barrage of e-mails,
letters and angry calls they will receive from pit bull supporters across
the country.
"We had all kinds of issues in Council Bluffs," he said. "We were bombarded
with prepared stuff and information from people outside the city," he said.
"You bet it intimidates elected officials. But the question is: How many
kids have to die? I understand that any dog can bite, but these dogs bite
and don't let go, they bite and hold and shake. I've personally seen pit
bull attacks, and it's a very, very scary thing."
Both men say pit bull horror stories they have dealt with as attorneys
fueled their passion to see bans enacted.
Bauermeister said a Council Bluffs woman was walking a schnauzer near a city
park last summer when a pit bull charged from a considerable distance, bit
the schnauzer and latched onto the woman's arm so tightly that two teeth
remained imbedded in her bone.
"Police thought there was a stabbing it was so bloody," he said. "And that's
just one story out of 30 pit bull attacks on people last year."
In 2004, a Denver police officer investigating a homicide was attacked by a
pit bull, and even after he fired into the dog's body with a .45-caliber
service revolver, it continued to attack. He was not released from the dog's
jaws until a second officer killed the animal with a shotgun slug.
"Most dogs will bite and release, but these are impervious to pain," Nelson
said. "That's in the genes, that's what they were bred for."
People in Davenport's 4th Ward are often afraid to walk around their
neighborhood because of the number of pit bulls, Ambrose said.
He is hopeful that efforts to enact a ban this year will work out better
than two years ago, when a prohibition was debated, then rejected.
Arguments against a ban - that it constitutes "canine profiling" and that
drug dealers and other criminals who favor the breed will turn to other
dangerous breeds instead - are not strong enough to stand up to the
evidence, he said.
"The animals are one thing, but protecting people absolutely has to be more
important," he said. "It's government's No. 1 responsibility. Sometimes the
elected officials in Davenport kind of lose that direction."
He is well aware that a firestorm of criticism will accompany any efforts to
approve a ban.
"A couple years ago, I tried to push a ban and ran into the same resistance
from animal groups," he said. "They blitz you with reasons why breed bans
don't work. This is a time when elected officials have to be brave."
It could be an uphill battle, however. A couple of aldermen have expressed
concerns about the difficulty in enforcing a ban and worry that the city may
be sued by angry dog owners. The Scott County Humane Society's senior animal
control officer - Robyn Dobernecker - is on record as opposing a ban as
well.
"I don't agree with any breed ban, regardless of what it is," she said. "I
don't think they're effective. They force people who own a certain breed to
find something else. There are all kinds of breeds out there people can and
do use for dog fighting, intimidation, all of that."
One alternative would require owners to spay or neuter pit bulls, which has
proved effective at curbing the breed's aggression, she said.
She said enforcement efforts should be concentrated on irresponsible owners,
not one specific dog breed.
In his experience, Nelson said that is not good enough. He said pit bulls
are the "nuclear weapon" of dog breeds compared with the "hand grenade" of
other breeds.
"How do you define an irresponsible owner?" he asked. "If you can't define
an owner as irresponsible until their pit bull kills someone, I think it's
too late."
The Davenport Public Safety Committee recently reconvened a special ad hoc
committee to look into toughening the city's vicious animal laws. Ambrose
said he is hopeful the committee will see the wisdom behind a breed-specific
brand this time.
"The Denver ordinance is outstanding and it has held up in court," he said.
"All I can do is present the information to the council and try to be
persuasive. When you look at this year's history of dog attacks, you'd think
this would be a top priority for them."
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com (tbrecht%40qctimes.com).
**********************************************
Amy Haimerl
Associate Editor, Westword
tel: 303.293.3555
Pit bull foe joins fight for city ban
By Tory Brecht
Calling pit bulls a severe threat to public safety in cities across America,
Denver Assistant City Attorney Kory Nelson has made it a personal crusade to
help other communities thinking of banning the dog breed.
Nelson recently contacted Davenport Alderman Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, who is
leading the effort to create a pit bull ban in the wake of several dog
attacks around the Quad-Cities this summer.
And Ambrose plans on eliciting the help of Nelson and others when making his
case.
"When communities are facing a problem with pit bulls, they often don't have
someone experienced in this area," Nelson said. "They get flooded with anti
breed-specific legislation rhetoric and they get intimidated and bullied.
When I see a jurisdiction wrestling with this issue, I try to get them
information I think will help them and tell them the legal issues involved."
Denver was one of the first U.S. cities to prohibit pit bulls - a generic
name that usually refers to three specific breeds, the American pit bull
terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bulk terrier - and
Nelson has successfully defended the ban before the Colorado Supreme Court.
He is not the only public official offering his expertise to Davenport.
Council Bluffs, Iowa, enacted a pit bull ban earlier this year - despite
very aggressive and vocal opposition from pro-pit bull factions - and the
assistant city attorney there, Don Bauermeister, is a convert to Nelson's
cause.
If Davenport goes ahead with efforts to enact a ban, he said, the city's
elected officials must stand up to the inevitable barrage of e-mails,
letters and angry calls they will receive from pit bull supporters across
the country.
"We had all kinds of issues in Council Bluffs," he said. "We were bombarded
with prepared stuff and information from people outside the city," he said.
"You bet it intimidates elected officials. But the question is: How many
kids have to die? I understand that any dog can bite, but these dogs bite
and don't let go, they bite and hold and shake. I've personally seen pit
bull attacks, and it's a very, very scary thing."
Both men say pit bull horror stories they have dealt with as attorneys
fueled their passion to see bans enacted.
Bauermeister said a Council Bluffs woman was walking a schnauzer near a city
park last summer when a pit bull charged from a considerable distance, bit
the schnauzer and latched onto the woman's arm so tightly that two teeth
remained imbedded in her bone.
"Police thought there was a stabbing it was so bloody," he said. "And that's
just one story out of 30 pit bull attacks on people last year."
In 2004, a Denver police officer investigating a homicide was attacked by a
pit bull, and even after he fired into the dog's body with a .45-caliber
service revolver, it continued to attack. He was not released from the dog's
jaws until a second officer killed the animal with a shotgun slug.
"Most dogs will bite and release, but these are impervious to pain," Nelson
said. "That's in the genes, that's what they were bred for."
People in Davenport's 4th Ward are often afraid to walk around their
neighborhood because of the number of pit bulls, Ambrose said.
He is hopeful that efforts to enact a ban this year will work out better
than two years ago, when a prohibition was debated, then rejected.
Arguments against a ban - that it constitutes "canine profiling" and that
drug dealers and other criminals who favor the breed will turn to other
dangerous breeds instead - are not strong enough to stand up to the
evidence, he said.
"The animals are one thing, but protecting people absolutely has to be more
important," he said. "It's government's No. 1 responsibility. Sometimes the
elected officials in Davenport kind of lose that direction."
He is well aware that a firestorm of criticism will accompany any efforts to
approve a ban.
"A couple years ago, I tried to push a ban and ran into the same resistance
from animal groups," he said. "They blitz you with reasons why breed bans
don't work. This is a time when elected officials have to be brave."
It could be an uphill battle, however. A couple of aldermen have expressed
concerns about the difficulty in enforcing a ban and worry that the city may
be sued by angry dog owners. The Scott County Humane Society's senior animal
control officer - Robyn Dobernecker - is on record as opposing a ban as
well.
"I don't agree with any breed ban, regardless of what it is," she said. "I
don't think they're effective. They force people who own a certain breed to
find something else. There are all kinds of breeds out there people can and
do use for dog fighting, intimidation, all of that."
One alternative would require owners to spay or neuter pit bulls, which has
proved effective at curbing the breed's aggression, she said.
She said enforcement efforts should be concentrated on irresponsible owners,
not one specific dog breed.
In his experience, Nelson said that is not good enough. He said pit bulls
are the "nuclear weapon" of dog breeds compared with the "hand grenade" of
other breeds.
"How do you define an irresponsible owner?" he asked. "If you can't define
an owner as irresponsible until their pit bull kills someone, I think it's
too late."
The Davenport Public Safety Committee recently reconvened a special ad hoc
committee to look into toughening the city's vicious animal laws. Ambrose
said he is hopeful the committee will see the wisdom behind a breed-specific
brand this time.
"The Denver ordinance is outstanding and it has held up in court," he said.
"All I can do is present the information to the council and try to be
persuasive. When you look at this year's history of dog attacks, you'd think
this would be a top priority for them."
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com (tbrecht%40qctimes.com).
**********************************************
Amy Haimerl
Associate Editor, Westword
tel: 303.293.3555