Assault Complain:

 

On Tuesday, October 30, 2006, at approximately 1030AM to 1100AM, near the intersection of North Capitol Ave and McKee Road, in San Jose, CA, I was assaulted as a pedestrian by an individual and dog in an owner with dog attack.

 

On a routine route of travel, I stopped and stood motionless, noting an approaching individual with large dog crossing the intersection just ahead ...they were coming toward me. I distanced myself several backward steps from their line of travel and approach, securing my pepper spray in hand. It was a large yellow dog and a scantly clad individual which had several weeks earlier, established a pattern over several months of suddenly appearing peculiarly during my daily routine along frequented lines of travel. The individual was arrayed in a lewd exhibitionist, bikini style woman's top and pant bottom. As they approached, I stood quietly, revealing the pepper spray canister in my hand, facing the dog and owner near motionless. Observing them, I slowly turned my upper body, revolving in motion with their passing stride.

 

After they strode pass I turned to resume my travel, but just pass me, several steps beyond, I heard the pair suddenly stop. In turning around, I saw the individual slackening the dog restraining leash, then command the dog saying, "sic'em, sic'em," gesturing hand with leash at me. The barking dog pounces at the commands, but abruptly stops and turns in retreat, wimpering and pawing at the stinging spray in it's face. The owner's impish glee flames into a storming rage. The individual picks-up a discarded bat length, picket-sign rod and blusterous towards me swirling the rod over it's head and issues to the dog a flurry of successive heated  attack commands.

 

This assault developed into a series of running attacks by the individual and dog when pleas to, "stop trailing me, and let me alone," were ignored and unheeded. The initial attack, now turned a succession of baiting provocations, continued approximately ten to twelve minutes as the individual persistently hasten in combative provocation trailing me to different locations during the successive attacks, turned baitings.

 

The individual stalked my retreat and evasion attempts, trailing me down the sidewalk toward the traffic intersection, back in the reverse direction into an adjacent retail parking lot, through a fast food eatery parking lot, then toward the same intersection from a different approach and finally culminated on a grassy mound, gas station landscaping and near-by public phone. In this series of approximately five different provocations, I repeatedly commanded the individual to stop and let me alone, and pepper sprayed both dog and owner at the place of each successive provocation.

  

This individual asserts and claims victimization to police in not initializing the attack while passing; although stopping, then repeatedly commanding the dog saying, "sic'em" in the initial assault. The dog and owner were pepper spayed for non-compliance following my initial and following numerous, ignored, unheeded pleas to stop trailing me and let me alone. From a near-by light rail station, I was hailed, detained and questioned regarding the incident about thirty minutes after the attacks by San Jose Police Officer, Q. Ramirez. Approximately five other responding uniformed police patrolmen were present-Mervyn's patron parking lot-during the detainment and street interrogation. 

  

It is my experience, in most normal encounters of this nature-passing dog with owner-the owner, noting a pepper stray canister, usually draws or summons his or her leashed or loose animal to themselves, smiles in passing, saying pleasantly, "Oh, don't worry, he doesn't bite." Yeah, sure, ...how many times have I've heard that before as a former letter carrier in the "flatlands" of east Oakland? To this day, I retain images and anxieties of salivating brawny Bullmasters, unpredictable square jawed Pit Bulls and hyper-aggressive snarling German Shephards bristling and snapping.