By: Sharon Aron Baron
A man who was accused by three women of kicking a dog at the Gary B. Jones Dog Park in Tamarac then assaulting them was not charged – and gives a another side of the story.
On April 20, around 10 a.m., two dog owners got into a verbal argument over a dog. The female owner said a man kicked her dog as they were exiting the dog park – and got into a verbal argument.
According to the report from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, an officer made contact with the male in question after he left the park. He pulled him over southbound on N. University Drive at the 8400 block and asked the couple what transpired, while another officer made contact with the party still at the dog park.
The man stated his dog was being aggressively played with by another dog and decided to just leave the park and go home. As he exited the small dog park into the fenced area before the common area, the same aggressive dog followed him into that area. He picked up the other dog and handed it to his owner, who came up to the fenced area. The female owner of that dog claimed that he had kicked her dog and began yelling at him. He argued with the owner of the other dog for a brief period and had a shoving match with the gate to the small dog area, before he closed it and began to leave. He was then approached by another female, who claimed to be a police officer. He asked for her credentials, but stated she did not show him anything and went to his vehicle and left the park.
His wife stated she was ahead of her husband and was holding their dog, so all she heard was the two of them arguing. She said if her husband had done or said anything wrong, she would have yelled at him and would not have stood for that. However, she stated her husband did not do anything wrong and was being calm with the female who was yelling at him.
While speaking with the couple, a female pulled up to where the officer had stopped their vehicle and said she was a witness to the whole incident and when she was leaving the small dog area at the same time as the couple, another dog tried to exit with them. She said the man stopped the dog from getting out of the area with his leg and picked it up and gave it to the owner, who was upset and yelling at him. The female owner of the dog called him derogatory names and they went back and forth, but that was it. She and the couple were the only ones present when the incident occurred and all the other women came to the female dog’s owner rescue, possibly due to there being a man involved.
He then met with a woman who provided video footage who he believed was the owner of the dog in question. However, after speaking with her, he found out she came after the incident and was a friend of the dog’s owner. She said she made contact with the man and told him he had to leave. She also told him she was a “former” police officer, and when he asked for her ID, she told him 911 was being called. She said the man brushed pass her in an aggressive manner and was not sure if he hit her or not, but said he did slam the exit gate to the park on her hand. The officer did not notice any swelling or bruising on her hand when it was showed to him.
The officer then met with the owner of the other dog. She saw her dog going out the small dog area gate and witnessed the man kick her dog and confronted him yelling “Don’t kick my dog” and he said “How bout I kick you?”
She grabbed her dog and they were jostling with the gate to the small dog area and he almost hit her with it – but she was not injured.
Based on the conflicting stories given by all five parties involved, the officers were unable to determine if any true crime had been committed.