Court Rules Man Can Bark at Police Dog
Posted on: Tuesday, 1 April 2003, 06:00 CST
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) -- A man was using his free speech rights when he barked back at a police dog, a state appeals court has ruled.
The 4th Ohio District Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of charges against a man who answered the barks of Pepsie in this southeast Ohio city in September 2001.
Jeremy Gilchrist, then 21, encountered the dog, which was in a police cruiser, as he walked along a street with friends.
His attorney said he was trying to be funny when he barked back.
"The mere fact that the police dog had commenced the barking did not entitle it to a solo performance," attorney Patrick McGee wrote in the appeal.
State law makes it illegal to taunt, torment or hit a police dog or horse. Officer Krishea Osborne testified that Gilchrist's barking made the dog "work himself up into a frenzy."
However, Athens County Municipal Judge Douglas Bennett threw out the charges last June, saying the law violated the right to free speech. The appeals court agreed Wednesday.
Bennett also said Gilchrist wasn't a threat to the animal or public safety because he was 30 feet away from the cruiser.
City Prosecutor Lisa Eliason argued in the appeal that taunting can occur from any distance.
No decision has been made whether to file another appeal, Eliason said Friday.
Athens is about 65 miles southeast of Columbus.
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User Comments (2)
| 2. |
Posted by AboveTheLaw on 05/22/2009, 12:33 Why is it that our police force would even take the time to stop patrolling the streets to hassle a young man walking down the sidewalk. If someone taunted a regular person's dog and the owner tried to have them arrested it would be a joke, whats so different when its a "cop dog"? |
| 1. |
Posted by swordfish on 04/13/2009, 22:22 this is a waste of tax dollars. City Prosecutor Lisa Eliason have too much time on her hands. i wonder how does it feel to graduate from a law school and go after someone that barked at a dog?!?! ridiculous. they should replace her as city prosecutor. dumb broad |
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