Council backs police, says dog must be removed

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Following a 45-minute closed session Monday, the Mt. Pleasant City Council unanimously rejected Richard Sartorius? appeal of a dog removal order. On the flip side, that means the council upheld the Mt. Pleasant Police Department?s order that the dog be removed from the city limits.

Councilman Kent White, who made the motion to reject the Sartorius appeal, said that the council made its decision on evidence presented by the parties involved in the incident.

?We based our decision on our ordinance and the police investigation that said the dog left the (Sartorius) property and attacked Mrs. (Sandy) Christner,? White said after the meeting.

Councilman Steve Engberg, who handles insurance for the Sartorius? family, was not at the meeting. Engberg said during the Sept. 14 council meeting when the council heard the appeal of the police order that he would abstain from voting on the matter.

Mayor Steve Brimhall, who is on vacation, also was not at the meeting.

The council continued its consistency in upholding police orders to have dogs removed under the council?s ?one bite and you?re out? policy. Only once in recent years has the council allowed a dog to stay after biting a resident. In that incident, the council felt the dog had been provoked before biting the resident.

Sartorius and Christner, along with their legal counsel, appeared before the city council at its last regular meeting (Sept. 14), presenting their cases.

There were numerous discrepancies in testimony from the parties. Sartorius said the dog broke loose from its collar after being taken out of the family vehicle and ran into the street where Christner was walking.

However, he said that he was confident that his boxer Rocky did not bite Christner. ?I was standing right there,? Sartorius said at the last council meeting. ?I asked her if she was bitten and she said she didn?t think so. I am confident that Rocky didn?t bite her. He has never bitten anyone. If this was a vicious dog, I would not be standing here tonight.?

Christner was taken to the Henry County Health Center (HCHC) for treatment following the incident and it is HCHC?s protocol that police be called if doctors feel a person was bitten by a dog.

Mt. Pleasant Police Officer Elijah Gnann was summoned to the hospital to investigate. He said Christner had arm and leg injuries. He asked her at the time if she wanted to press charges and she said no.

Christner?s attorney, Tom Rebeling of Des Moines, urged the council at the Sept. 14 meeting to follow its ordinance, noting the dog bit his client and the city ordinance says it must be removed.