Man pulls gun on my dogs at Foss Park

[ILoveDogs]

To whom it may conern here is a disturbing story that happened to me
today. I live in Somerville and lately I have been going to Foss Park
located at the intersection of Broadway and Megrath Highway. It was
around noon on Tuesday and I was there with my two dogs and my 3 year
old son. I have a white german shepherd and a golden retriever. My
son and I were at the Basketball courts when we decided to leave.
Both of my dogs were off leash because no one was in the park at the
time. I bring them to Sheepfold often and they never have had a
problem with other dogs. This is when I noticed a man with a dog in
the area where I have to leave the park. He had a dog on a leash. My
dogs did not approach him at this time. I yelled over to him that my
dogs were friendly thinking that he was not sure to let his dog off
the leash with them. In hind site I should have immediatley put my
dogs on the leashes and left but I didn't. He then continued to come
toward my direciton still with his dog leashed. I know that a leashed
dog around unleashed dogs is not a good thing. Before I new it my
dogs approached his and they both started to bark and get into a
verbal battle. Absolutely no biting or attacking! As I ran over to
them to grab my two dogs I noticed that this man had pulled out a hand
gun from a holster and aimed at my golden retriever. I screamed at
him to put the gun away and I grabbed my dogs. This mind you was all
happening 50 feet from my 3 year old son. I ripped into him verbally
and all he said was "your dogs should be on a leash". This is true
and I take full responsibility for not having my dogs leashed, but
pulling out a hand gun? He then claimed that he was calling the
police as I also did. They responded very quickly because a gun was
involved. In fact a state police helicopter flew over head. I told
the police my side and it turns out he has a permit to carry a
concealed weapon. Nothing happend to him. I can not believe that my
dogs almost got shot in front of my son, in the middle of the day in a
public park. Please heed this warning and leash your dogs unless your
at a dog park.


Mike

[greenish]

Could you please describe the man and his dog? It would be helpful for
those who visit Foss park to know what to look out for.

Thanks.

[Michael Johnson]

There really isn't anything that makes this guy stand out. He is probably in his early 40's. He has a white mixed dog. He was wearing normal everyday clothes. I would recommend to simply stay away from this park if you want to take your dogs off leash. I personally don't want to be around a guy with a gun. Period.

--- On Wed, 9/30/09, greenish <do...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: greenish <do...@hotmail.com>
> Subject: [FellsDOG] Re: Man pulls gun on my dogs at Foss Park
> To: "Fells Dog Owner Group" <fell...@googlegroups.com>
> Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 9:31 AM
>
> Could you please describe the man and his dog? It would be
> helpful for
> those who visit Foss park to know what to look out for.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>

> On Sep 29, 7:39 pm, ILoveDogs <mjohnson31....@yahoo.com>

[Brian Connolly]

Foss park is a tough area Mark be careful down there.

Brian

----- Original Message ----
From: ILoveDogs <mjohns...@yahoo.com>
To: Fells Dog Owner Group <fell...@googlegroups.com>

[Michele (with Strummer)]

What an awful, experience, Mike! I'm so sorry that you and your child
(and your dogs) experienced this.

I have followed up with Somerville Police Chief, Anthony Holloway,
about the incident in Foss Park in Somerville on Tuesday. The person
who pulled his gun is not a resident of Somerville. Permits to carry
concealed weapons are issued by the town of the individual's
residence. Chief Holloway is contacting the Chief of Police in the
town where the individual lives and is asking that the permit be
revoked.

The Chief emphasized that, along with Mayor Curtatone, he wants
Somerville to be a safe place to live work and play: He is not going
to tolerate people pulling out their guns in our town. He said, if
the person were a Somerville resident, he would already have had the
permit revoked.

Chief Halloway also advised me that the Somerville Police Department
will be stepping up enforcement of the leash law in Somerville and
issuing citations. As Mike said, you can't anticipate what might
happen when your dog is off-leash in an area that is not designated as
an off-leash recreational area. This is why it is critical that we
continue to work for designated areas where it is legal and safe for
us to enjoy the benefits of socializing and exercising our dogs off-
leash.

Cheers,
Michele Biscoe
Chairperson
Somerville Dog Owners Group

[Michael Johnson]

Hey there Michele,

I just got your email and I appreciate your comments and understanding. I received a call today from a sgt. in the Somerville police dept. concerning this matter. He wanted to hear my side of events that happened that day and needless to say they were very different from the other gentleman's. He was very concerned about what I had to say and he told me that he was sending out a letter to the Melrose police dept. (the city this man's gun permit was issued) recommending that his permit be revoked. The officer read to me this man's statement and there were many parts that were totally fabricated. I hope people understand that for the safety of you, your family and your pets, you should not have your dogs off leash in areas that are not designated. I believe your phone call to the chief was very helpful in prompting action is this matter. Thank You.

Sincerely,

Michael

--- On Thu, 10/1/09, Michele (with Strummer) <canisfa...@somervilledog.com> wrote:

[Catherine]

I don't post here often anymore but I do keep an eye on the messages -
thank you for posting this incident and I must say it gives me
nightmares. I know I am guilty of sometimes letting my guys off leash
in non-designated areas due to a lack of possibilities (and that is
for another discussion) and as my guys are huge I can just see
something like this happening. I'll be thinking twice from now on -
and avoiding Foss Park. But someone who would pull a gun, in front of
a child, at a family park is not someone I would like to run into
anywhere and not someone who belongs at a public park.

Catherine

PS - on a happier note - Cambridge has recently started a "shared
park" hours program in some more parks - hopefully this will help with
the off leash access.

[Justin Grunau]

Have there been any developments since your last post? I'm curious if
you are still getting support from the Somerville city officials and
how the Melrose officials have responded (if you know).

It also really shocks me that Massachusetts State Law devolves gun
regulation like this to the towns of residence and not to the town in
which the person is currently standing. I'm thinking some letters to
our reps in the legislature are in order, because that sounds like a
bad law to me. If Somerville doesn't allow concealed handguns, then I
don't want there to BE concealed handguns IN Somerville.

[Michael Johnson]

Hey there Justin,
I have not been contacted since I talked to the Somerville Police Dept. in which they strongly urged the revocation of this mans gun permit. I understand that a letter was to be sent to the Melrose Police Dept. doing just this. But I used to have a license to carry a concealed weapon some years ago due to the job I had at the time. It's my understanding that it's a state issued license, issued by the State Police, but you have to apply through the town/city you reside in. Since it is a state issued license, city's and towns have to honor it. The City of Somerville or any city for that matter cannot prohibit a state license to carry a concealed weapon. Unfortunately this gentlemens actions will taint a lawful, responsible persons right to carry.

Thanks,

Mike

--- On Tue, 10/20/09, Justin Grunau <ivsti...@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Justin Grunau <ivsti...@gmail.com>
> Subject: [FellsDOG] Re: Man pulls gun on my dogs at Foss Park
> To: "Fells Dog Owner Group" <fell...@googlegroups.com>