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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0777.000 1996-1998 West Haw'a irHbinadeOSociety P.O Box 2695. Kal!ya•Kona, Hawaii 96745 • (808) 329.2051 • Fax- 329-6721 DA TE - I 71- v L4 LU:,J VUiuiEd Or i ;~rL:t :iituui~• DitSSAGE 1. ~Iu pRON QIn ter wIe, Pru- i nt ,..Fi.r.;. phone 32 -2D51 17=i-('1721 r T!;; No, w.e1c_~1A12..2.`' 1998 West Hawaii Humane Society Box 2695 • Kailua-Kona. Hawaii 86745 • (608) 329-2051 • Fax: 329.6721 P O 7/23/98 A~0" West Hawaii Humane Society 1,as received complaints regarding the automatic reversal of a vicious dog designation if the Police Officer does not show up within fifteen minutes of the scheduled hearing time, the esignativu i; reversed. (plea+sk see atta(hed letter to Chief Wayne Carvalho tiOm Shawn Ndkoa)• West Hawaii umane Society always had a close working rela- tionship with the Police and thev would call us immediately to assist them in an animal rei_aLcd matters. This would eliminate the need for the Iiolice Officer to show up for any hearings and would free. the Of icer up to attended to other police business. '~AP•-24-9E :0~2: :d f+ \1 J HAWAII ISLAN October 2. 1996 C1LIMASIG SOOETY ~•~L ~v' L~ Wayne G Carv Iho Chief of Police Hilo Police Slat n 349 Kapiolani S eel ' V Hilo,, HI 96720 Dcar Chief Car alho: HE Vicious Dog Designations We are writing , request your asslslance. the Hawaii Island Humane Society (HIHS) has bee receiving more calls than usual from members of the community abo t dog bites. Some of these callers have reported that they called the polic first, but received an unsatisfactory response. The HIHS woul like to work together with the Police to improve the procedures used for viclou, dog designations so we all will be able to provide the best possible servic to our community. Please request that your officers review the following prose ures, which file HIHS officers have been trained to follow in dosignating a og vicious. If a person or imal (other than a cat or dog) is bitten by a dog and the police or HIHS are n ified, it is very important that the responding officer complete a thorough inves gallon. Alter deciding to deem the dog vicious, the vlficer should complel the Notice to Dog Owner (Attachment 1) and give it to the dog owner, along th a copy of the Rules for Appeal of Designallon of Viciousness (Attachment 2. The officer should go over the rult;s for appeal and make sure the dog owner understands them. In addition, lh olUcer should Into in the dog owner that the dog must be confined in a , ecure enclosure while on the owners private property and leashed and zzled at oil time:; while off the owner's propeny. The officer also should intorm he dog owner that the tines for violating these requirements would be $10 lot the first citation, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for the third After three cit tions, the dog owner will be summoned for a court appearance and the suble t dog may ue cuthanized. The police ultl er should send a copy of u1e Notice to Doy Owneri to the HIHS promptly alter service on the doy owner After teceivmg a Notice to Dog Ownet. the dui owns has 30 days to srnd a wrlnen appcal to the I IHS AGnUATE MI MULi( 0i i11r AtetIIICAN hVMANE AS'QU UATIUti 745225 Queo, Ka h~roWij My . Kail,,.a Kona. NI 967-11) lcleptta~,e (8W 1 320 11% • rea (aU9( 37946113 Keaau (bG2) `l~G S~`?ff KamaeW 1ao61 itt+ti L~,K rinR-24-99 10~e: c_ =:j2 Chiel Carvalho ' October 2, 199 Page 2 After receiving t e wnilen at-f>cul, the HIHS ~eunngs Officer, who is an attorney, will an 'Inge for a hearing, ut the convenience et the officer. At the hearing, the do owner and isauing officer zu e present and each has the right to call witnesse , aoss-exan ine each other and any witnesses, and present a closing argume . the officer has the respunsibility 1a' beginning the hearing by presenting the case on behalf of the County and the dog owner will respond. ~i We have had E veral appeal 1-,eoringa where the police otftcer did not appear. ur policy is to D6Wa-15 rninuie grace fienod 6cfore allowing lho dog owner_ to kc reave, then`nut -atical~ ~evcr e the desigr5lron 6i cause of the absi nee of c<< Ir any evidencepr serited"in support of-fit e"designation Under the Haw I County Code, Chapter 4, and purbuanl to the Hawaii Courtly QC cE%/%~y/r~ Rules for Apped of Designation of viciousness, tho sole legal question at the fl&.k hearing will be hether the dog bit a person or diiinidl yr put a person or anima l4~~ ~11 in imminent danger, The dog owner has the burdun of proving that the designation of v ciousness should be i evorsad. rGY12z~ I arranged for th Hearings Qlticur in West,Hawau to present a training to the HIHS officers a rd would be happy to wiange a simifur training fv your police `f officers. The tr ining included a review of the relevant laws: descriplions of the procedures forte officers to follow in investigating and designating a dog J vicious; deccripl ns of lho Hea ngs Olficct's procedures before, during, and after an appeal earing, mcludinj how the officers could prepare for the hearing and the factors tie Hearingc Officer considers, relevant, and examples of cases in which the ap eal has resulted in a reversal of tho vicious dog designation. If your police pr cedures are hignificantfy different for invusligaling and designating a d vicious. I would appfeciate tho opportunity to work with you to standardize the procedures - We look Ivrwar d to your retsponse. Ver ruty yours, Ok f4" SHAWN M NA A, ESQ. Executive Director / Encl. / cc; Maiden E Temple, Csq Eileen V I-redway, Esq.