Saturday, August 27, 2011

Portland police kill pit bull near bus stop

OREGON -- A Portland police spokesman says an officer responding to a report of a man with an aggressive pit bull trying to board a bus fatally shot the dog near a north Portland bus stop.

Lt. Robert King says that shortly after officers arrived at the scene Wednesday afternoon, the dog charged one officer, who evaded it without injury. King says when the dog charged again, the officer fired and killed it.

Late Wednesday, police identified the dog’s owner as 61-year-old Richard Cook.

They arrested him for investigation of four misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment.

An employee of a gas station next to the bus stop tells The Oregonian the dog’s owner was a regular at the station’s convenience store and the pit bull was always friendly. Another woman told the newspaper she frequently saw the man and dog riding the bus and the dog was well-mannered.

(Bend Bulletin - August 26. 2011)