Chief Brief: Epidemic of dog bites, eluding cops

Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck warned local motorists to stop as soon as possible when police pull them over, and resident dog owners to keep their pets confined, vaccinated, and registered.

Olney police have arrested at least two motorists recently for eluding police, he said.

“The law is very clear about this,” Chief Birbeck said in his Friday briefing. “If a police car pulls behind you and flashes red and blue lights. … You are required to pull to the right where it is safe to do so.”

Evading arrest or detention in a motor vehicle is a felony, he said.

“You may have only committed a small traffic infraction or an equipment [infraction] that would get you a warning, or at worst, a ticket. And you turn it into something where you are going to jail,” he said. “The best thing you can do is pull over and stop. If you’ve got something going on in your vehicle where you are going to jail anyway, you’re better to stop right there rather than trying to get to grandma’s house or your house … You’re going to catch an additional charge for that.”

Eluding officers also “escalates the situation” and gives them “a heightened sense of, ‘What are they trying to conceal? What did they just leave or come from doing?”

Chief Birbeck also advised dog owners to make sure their animals are safely confined in their yards after a loose dog bit a resident and sent him to the hospital.

“We are fixing to have to come down on this hard because people are not responding to our pleas to keep your animals locked up or to be responsible about their enclosures to make sure they can’t escape from them,” he said.

Olney Police have authority to deem dogs who bite “dangerous,” he said. “If the owners fail to comply with the order, we will obtain a warrant to seize the dog, after which a court hearing will be held to determine whether the dog should be removed and placed in the city’s custody,” Chief Birbeck said. Owners may be required to comply with certain conditions, including moving the animal, buying liability insurance or euthanizing the pet.

“We had two dogs deemed dangerous – a person walking had to use their firearm against a dog attack,” he said. “We are taking dogs at large and dogs that are aggressive very seriously. Make sure your dog is vaccinated, confined and registered with the city.”