43
Warren police review video of dog attack
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The wife of a city man who was bitten by a large dog and bruised during a fight inside an East Market Street gas station this week says she is pleased a detective now has a copy of the store’s surveillance video and is reviewing the incident.
“I’m happy that they are actively investigating this situation. My concern is for the dog attacking again,” Mollie Norman said Friday. The fight is part of an ongoing dispute between the Normans and the couple with the dog.
Mollie Norman is the wife of Jerome Norman, 27, of South Street Southeast, who provided The Vindicator with a copy of the video earlier this week.
The video shows Norman and the man arguing outside the store Tuesday, then Norman running inside the store, with the woman, man and dog following him.
It shows the fight continuing inside the store, with Norman fending off the woman, man and dog, as well as Norman throwing a punch at the man and throwing items at the man and woman.
The Normans have complained that the policy used by the Warren Police Department, Warren Municipal Court and Warren prosecutor’s office dictates that the Normans pay $230 to file charges against the man and woman.
The police department didn’t file charges in the case, advising Jerome Norman to talk to a city prosecutor about filing charges himself.
The Normans say they can’t afford $230 and that the video should be sufficient for police to file charges.
Police officials say requiring an alleged victim to talk to a prosecutor about the filing of charges is used for misdemeanor complaints that are not observed by a police officer and involve known individuals.
The fee is charged to make the alleged victim accountable for coming to court to testify because many victims don’t follow through in the days and weeks after the incident, said Margaret Scott, clerk of courts for Warren Municipal Court.
Filing charges requires a large amount of court staff time and can include the filing of arrest warrants and temporary protection orders, as well as notifications to police departments, Scott added.