Report: Dog not hit on purpose

By Patricia Meade

The initial police report of the event was inaccurate.

YOUNGSTOWN — An Internal Affairs Division investigation has concluded that a 140-pound Rottweiler walked into the path of Detective Sgt. Brian Flynn’s turning cruiser and was not deliberately struck by the officer.

Lt. Rod Foley, IAD commander, investigated the matter after receiving a complaint from Patrick Patoray of Millet Avenue. Two of Patoray’s five Rottweilers, Sampson, 10, and Sadie, 6, escaped through a hole in his backyard fence March 30 and caused a commotion at the Circle K convenience store on Mahoning Avenue around 3:30 a.m.

The initial report of what happened, written by Patrolwoman Bridget Quinn, was inaccurate, Foley said. The officer was counseled Friday for not describing the incident accurately, he said.

When Patoray read in The Vindicator what Quinn wrote, he questioned what really happened.

The report says the officers at the scene — Quinn, Michael Bodnar and Flynn — called for a dog warden, but none responded, so they used their cruisers to chase the dogs out of the Circkle K lot. Flynn “ended up hitting/running over several times the timid dog,” the report states.

In a letter to Patoray, Foley explained how the investigation showed the officers’ conduct was proper and that Sampson was struck accidentally. Statements were taken from the officers and witnesses, including a store clerk, and a store surveillance video was reviewed.

Mahoning County Dog Warden Mike Fox told Foley that the deputy warden on call never received the page to respond to Circle K. Foley said it remains unclear why the deputy didn’t receive multiple pages sent from the 911 Center.

Patoray said Friday that he’s satisfied with the results of the investigation, noting Flynn also came to his house and explained what happened. Sampson, who collided with the cruiser, is doing fine.

Sampson didn’t come home for two days after being at Circle K. He wandered into Calvary Cemetery across the street from the convenience store, and workers there fed him.

Patoray said Sampson was given pizza by the workers, so when he came home, he turned up his nose at dog food. Now he’s back to eating his regular food.

In the letter, Foley said when the officers arrived at Circle K, they confirmed that the two Rottweilers were blocking the store entrance and one of the dogs was acting aggressively. Without a dog warden, the officers used several methods to remove Sampson and Sadie from the parking lot, including voice commands, sirens and air horns.

The officers ruled out using a snare to capture the dogs because only one was available. They also ruled out using pepper spray because that would put them in danger by having to get close to the dogs. They discussed lethal force but chose against it because the dogs hadn’t attacked anyone, and the use of a shotgun would have endangered others.

When Sampson and Sadie walked away from the store entrance and toward the fuel pumps around 4 a.m., the officers used air horns to move them out of the lot and also used their cruisers to block the dogs’ return to the business.

Once on Mahoning Avenue, Sadie turned to re-enter the lot, and Flynn placed his cruiser in front of her to prevent her return. As he turned, Sampson walked into the path of the cruiser and was struck by the front bumper, a civilian witness told Foley.

Witnesses said the animal got caught in the undercarriage but because of the cruiser’s slow speed, was able to regain his footing and run out from underneath before he could be run over by the front wheels. Sampson and Sadie then “trotted off,” witnesses said, adding Sampson didn’t appear to sustain any visible injuries.

Flynn, focused on Sadie’s movements, didn’t see Sampson walk in front of the cruiser and didn’t realize the dog had been struck until he heard a noise underneath the vehicle. Contrary to Quinn’s report, several witnesses said the dog was struck only once, not several times as she wrote.

meade@vindy.com