The identity of a Baltimore City police officer who is being withheld by the .
Patch filed a Public Information Act request for the officer’s identity, but was denied on grounds that the request was “an unwarranted invasion of privacy” and revealing the information could “endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.”
The officer, whose name is blacked out in the sheriff's incident report, is listed as the victim on the police report. But no charges were filed against the woman whose dog approached the officer’s family. A .
Police initially said the officer did not pull his gun and that a report was not written. After inquiries from Patch, though, police released a written report that stated the man did pull his gun. A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office said that both parties involved in the incident left the playground “cordially.”
Lisa Vecchioni, the woman who had the dog and is listed as a "suspect" on the report, said that was not the case. Her name was also blacked out, but she contacted Patch to complain about the incident.
“He pulled the gun out immediately, didn’t even give a chance to see if the dog was friendly or not,” Vecchioni told Patch on March 25. “He had a gun pointed at my dog, I had to cross between my dog and him with the gun pointed at my dog. … It was definitely pointed at me.”
The dog is listed as an 80-pound “pitbull mix” on the police report, but Vecchioni said it weighs about 40 pounds and is primarily a Labrador mix.
I truly mean no disrespect for this officer. If I was walking some of the streets in Baltimore, I would want him by my side, and I’d thank him sincerely, but when you make some decisions you should be accountable, or at least give your side of the story.
I guess my main point was that fact that you and officials feel the officer and family may be in danger from retaliation. Once again, I don't think this incident caused enough anger for retaliation or a family relocation program. Let's hear the officer's side of the story from him and not a second party.
Now onto the real issue, I have to disagree that dogs do not belong on playgrounds near children. A responsible owner will have control over their dog, leashed or unleashed. Yes, there are plenty of irresponsible owners out there, but that shouldn't take away from the privileges of the responsible owners. But why would anyone take their children to a park if they feel they needed a gun on them while they are there? My father was a city cop and he never carried his gun outside of the city. And there have been instances where I have been to parks/neighborhoods where I know there are unsafe dogs. I protect myself with mace or a taser, because I wouldn't want to kill an animal, just protect myself. This cop could have easily brought either with him to use to defend his family and we would have much less of an issue here.