A pit bull attacked a St. Paul police officer who responded to a 911 call about the dog biting someone else, according to a criminal complaint.
The officer, who police identified as Mark Lundquist, suffered bloody puncture wounds on his leg. His pants were torn and his glasses broken.
Lundquist and another officer went to the 1100 block of Central Avenue shortly after 8 a.m. Dec. 16 on a report of a dog bite, the complaint said.
A "hysterical" woman who had been taking care of the dog for its owner said she was trying to put it back into its kennel when it bit her on the upper arm, according to the complaint.
At that point, someone else took the dog outside on a leash, she told police.
The complaint tells the rest of the story this way:
The officers saw a 13-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl walking the dog across the street. The 13-year-old held the leash -- a 3- to 4-foot piece of nylon rope tied to a large metal chain -- and "was having a hard time controlling the dog," the complaint said.
Their uncle, Charlie Williamson, 31, told the girls to bring the dog to the officers.
Lundquist "tried to get the relevant information from the girls and (Williamson) without much success," the complaint said.
When Lundquist turned around to go back to the house where the victim was located, the girl let go of the leash. The dog bit him in the right calf. When it attacked again, the officer shot and killed it.
A witness reported that Williamson
told the 13-year-old to "let it go" because "they were tired of the dog," the complaint said.
Williamson was charged with aiding and abetting obstruction of legal process with force, aiding and abetting fifth-degree assault and aiding and abetting an animal attack.
Copyright 2013 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
