It is difficult to understand, then, why an
eyewitness or confession is needed to prosecute dogfighting charges. But that's
District Attorney Eddie Jordan's explanation for the decision by his office
to decline charges against 16 people arrested Feb. 1 in what promised to be
a major dogfighting bust ("Losing Fight," July 8). Jordan's office also dropped
the other charges against all 16 people -- including flight from an officer
and criminal trespass.
At the time of the arrests, local animal rights
activists and other concerned citizens believed that a major blow had been delivered
to dogfighters. Louisiana's dogfighting law, one of the strictest in the nation,
makes it a felony to possess or own fighting dogs or to train a dog to fight;
the maximum penalty is a $25,000 fine and 10 years in prison. Just being present
at a staged dogfight is a misdemeanor. It's also illegal to own certain animal
training devices in combination with dogfighting paraphernalia or with dogs
that appear to have been fought or trained to fight.
According to dogfighting experts, evidence
found the night of Feb. 1 should have been enough to convince a jury an organized
match was taking place at a trucking company in a remote part of eastern New
Orleans. That night, police answered a call from the landowner, whose neighbor
had told him strangers were on his property. When the officers arrived, everyone
fled. Police eventually collared 16 people.
At the scene, officers discovered a blood-spattered
fighting "pit." They also found several necessary objects for a dogfight, such
as veterinary supplies and a "break stick" used to separate fighting dogs. A
pit bull on the site had scars typically associated with dogfighting, and police
recovered more than $5,000 in cash. Yet, this evidence was not enough to convince
the district attorney's office that it had what it needed. "We were not rejecting
the case because we were afraid of dogfighting cases," Jordan stressed to Gambit
Weekly last week. "We will prosecute every case we conclude has merit."
Not many prosecutors are savvy to the evidence
that points to organized dogfighting, say officials with the Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS). Last month, HSUS experts came to Gretna to educate
animal control officers, police and prosecutors about dogfighting, an activity
with formative ties to Louisiana. Organized dogfights follow regulations called
"Cajun rules," so named because they were written by Lafayette police chief
and dogfighter Gaboon Trahan in the 1950s. Among other regulations, Cajun rules
specify the protocol to follow if police arrive and break up a fight. "It's
built right into the rules," HSUS animal fighting expert Eric Sakach told 80-plus
officers at the workshop. "They've already banked on you guys being here."
Dogfighting is not simply an animal cruelty
problem. People who engage in dogfighting are often involved with other crimes
-- including drug dealing, gang activity and possession of illegal firearms.
Det. David Hunt -- a Columbus, Ohio, vice officer who actively pursues dogfighters
and who spoke at the HSUS workshop -- says that evidence seized during some
of his dogfighting busts was sufficient to prosecute suspects on federal organized
crime charges.
Other significant social problems arise from
dogfighting. Many people bring children to the gory matches. Also, a dog trained
to fight is a public nuisance. Some dogs have mistaken small children for animals.
Arrests and convictions of dogfighters should
not be rare occurrences. "There's no love lost for the kind of people who get
involved in this kind of brutal, savage activity," Jordan says. We applaud him
for sending a representative to the HSUS workshop to learn more about the illegal
blood sport, and we hope this reflects a higher commitment to future dogfighting
prosecutions. The New Orleans Police Department also sent several officers to
the workshop and has named Lt. Heather Kouts as its liaison with the Louisiana
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Last week, Louisiana SPCA executive director
Laura Maloney and chief humane officer Kathryn Destreza, along with Kouts and
Louisiana Highway Patrol Sgt. Emory Tumulty, met with Jordan. Maloney says she
believes Jordan's office will try to work with the NOPD, state police and the
SPCA to bring dogfighters to justice. The three groups plan to collaborate on
at least one pending case involving a suspected dogfighter.
The criminal justice system should treat dogfighting
like any other serious crime. Donald Beaman, who owns the eastern New Orleans
property where the February arrests were made, says he's angry that the DA's
office dropped all charges. "Now they can go free to do this on someone else's
property," he says. No doubt they will try -- it's outlined in their rules.
