Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News
Copyright 2006 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
Davis County sheriff’s deputies had used Tasers before to subdue out-of-control criminals -- but never on a dog.
That changed Sunday night when a deputy used the electronic shock device on a charging pit bull during a chase through a Layton neighborhood. It began with a traffic stop. Three men were inside the car when deputy Todd Taylor said he noticed the smell of marijuana.
According to a police report, Taylor said he began searching the men and conducting criminal background checks when Michael Alires, 23, ran off.
“I called two times to Mr. Alires informing him to ‘stop, police.’ Mr. Alires looked at me and continued to run,” he wrote in the police report. The chase continued into the back yard of a home on Layton’s Cliffs Place Drive. As he rounded the corner of the home, Taylor said he saw Alires bent over a white pit bull, removing its leash.
“I stopped as Mr. Alires pushed the dog towards me and yelled, ‘Get him.’ The dog charged towards me with teeth showing and growling,” Taylor wrote. “The dog took approximately three bounds and a leap as I raised my Taser and fired striking the dog.”
A cycle from the Taser brought the dog down quickly, yelping and shaking. As Taylor tried to tell Alires to get on the ground, the pit bull got up again. Taylor said he had to Taser the dog again.
“The dog again fell with a yelp,” he said. The dog got up, snapped the wires and ran off to hide by a nearby tree.
Alires tried to run, but Taylor said he drew his gun with his other hand and ordered him to the ground. Meanwhile, a woman inside the home came out to see what the commotion was about. Taylor ordered her inside as Alires was put in handcuffs.
As deputies explained to the dog’s owners what had happened, an animal control officer helped remove the Taser barbs from the pit bull.
“It sounds like the owner was pretty thankful that the dog wasn’t destroyed,” Davis County Sheriff’s Lt. Brad Wilcox said Tuesday.
Alires is an acquaintance of theirs and deputies said he knew they had a pit bull. He was booked into the Davis County Jail on investigation of aggravated assault, failure to stop at a police officer’s commands, false information to police and a warrant.
Wilcox said the use of the Taser on the pit bull is under review, but it appears the officer was justified.
“The whole idea behind the Taser is it’s a less-than-lethal way to handle a critical situation,” he said. “The same principles that apply to a human being apply to animals. We don’t want to destroy an animal.” E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
May 31, 2006