K-9 unit takes down suspect at South Shore beach
At least one person was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital on Thursday afternoon after a fight broke out at ski beach on the South Shore.
A U.S. Forest Service K-9 unit took a suspect down. That is the person who was taken to the hospital. The extent of the injuries is unknown.
This is the same beach where authorities had problems last Fourth of July.
El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies and South Lake Tahoe police officers assisted with fight that involved several intoxicated people.
Ski beach is to the left of Baldwin Beach where boats are allowed to dock.
The USFS and sheriff’s departments have called in extra officers to Tahoe.
Law enforcement is reporting that for most part things have been relatively calm this holiday outside of the Ski Beach incident.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Might want to fact check before you print stories. The person who was bitten by the canine was trying to break up a fight in progress, and was subsequently detained in handcuffs longer than either of the two subjects fighting. He was also not taken to Barton, but rather was treated and released at the scene.
All kinds of ugly business went down on that beach yesterday. Most of it was not observed by law enforcement. I’m glad they were down there and I’ll be even happier when it is July 8 and we can once again shop for groceries, drive across town and enjoy the beach. They are good for our local economy, ya ya ya, I know that. But in all honesty, we get a class of ‘visitors’ that I could really do without on our Independence Day. We are all thinking it, I’m just saying it.
Almost every bit of detail written about this incident is incorrect. The officers that dealt with the situation were very unprofessional which was luckily caught on many cameras. The K-9 that was on seen was a dog in training and therefore shouldnt have been let loose on any one, this was easy to tell when the handler got bit himself after he couldnt get the dog to let go of the suspect.
Unless there was a weapon involved or the officer was in grave danger( which doesnt appear to be the case) being attacked by a k9 seem like excessive force. I really hope this is investigated further. Commanding a dog to attack a citizen that was in swim trunks was probably much more serious than the actual fight. That k9 officer should be put behind a desk
Thats your forest CIRCUS at work!
The reason the El Droado County Sheriff wants to ban
the forest Circus twig pigs fron his jurestriction!
It was disgusting to see what took place at ski beach yesterday. The person in question who was bit by the dog not only didn’t start the fight, he was attempting to break it up after the victim, whom was wearing a leg brace, was jumped. Thankfully this entire scene was caught on camera by several bystanders. Upon becoming aware of the fight the forest service offices thought it was a good idea to command a dog in training to attack the person whom was attempting to break up the fight. This same dog then bits its handler when the handler was attempting to control the dog. Adding insult to injury the forest service detained the person who was jumped and the person who was attempting to break up the fight, even as hundreds of witnesses informed the officers of the true nature of the events. Seeing as this injustice wasn’t enough the officers issued a 300$ assault on an officer ticket to the person who was bitten. This same person was then forced to go to the ER and get a wound on his leg left by the dog stiched up. This wound was wrapped with a small bandage at the scene. I hope that the people who witnessed this event come forward and that the officers involved have the guts to admit their mistakes in the handling of this fight. I fear that they won’t seeing a they issued a 300$ ticket to a person attempting to break up a fight.
Maybe some fact checking is in order before you publish articles. Just like the people that left the previous comments said the person that was attacked by the USFS officers k9 unit was simply trying to stop some drunk tourists from attacking a disabled person walking in a full leg brace. After the initial attack on the disabled person the dog was released on the person who was trying to brake it up, mean while they let the person who started all this run off into the woods. After the person who was breaking the fight up was attacked by the dog the USFS officers couldn’t get there k9 to release, but finally they did after about 1 minute and the k9 then turned on its owner and locked down on the officers arm. If you can’t control your dog especially a k9 dog it shouldn’t be part of the public service! The USFS officers were completely unprofessional in my book, threatening people that they were gonna taze them and at one point I watched one of the officers poke one on looker in the face with his finger for trying to tell the officers that they let the person that caused all this run away. There was close to 50 people that were telling the officers they had the wrong people but wouldn’t listen to a single one of them until about twenty minutes went by and then luckily found the man who started it all soon after. They didn’t take the person that got attacked by the dog to the hospital initially because he refused service but later that evening he ended up having to get stitches in his leg and on his rear end from the k9 attack.
It is very disconcerning that the Tribune, a supposedly valued asset in the community would publish a story without fact checking first. As a first hand witness who made an official police report I am disappointed in the fiction published by your newspaper. This individual was trying to stop a fight where a man in a knee brace was being jumped. He was maliciously attacked by the Forest Services dog. The attack by the dog was unnecessary force because there were multiple able bodied officers on hand at the time. The dog was used as first defense which was completely unwarranted. The dog kept attacking the individual after he was completely submitted and in hand cuffs. The Forest Service officials had absolutely no control over the animal. The animal actually attacked its officer while trying to be controlled. When confronted the Forest Service workers and sheriff officers had conflicting stories. The Forest Service told me they used the animal because they did not have the jurisdiction to use force on individuals. This was conflicting with what I witlessness, I saw a Forest Service officer excessively pushing bystander individuals, who were visibly upset about what was happening, to the ground during the confrontation . I then asked a sheriff if the Forest Service is allowed to use force and was told yes, they are considered police officers and may use necessary force. If this is the case then why was an animal used as first defense to attack an individual who was trying to break up a fight? The Forest Service admitted the dog was still in training. Why would you bring a untrained dog to a huge holiday like the Fourth of July and use it when they could have easily controlled the incident with officers? A Forest Service worker also told me the dog cannot be told exactly who to attack, it just attacks the first person it feels is a threat in a situation like that. With an uncontrollable tool of force at a crowed public beach who is to say that animal wouldn’t attack a child or innocent bystander if it got confused? They also ticketed the individual with assaulting a police officer,the dog, even though the individual was completely submissive from the beginning and screamed in pain as the officers could not remove the animal even after he was cuffed. I am deeply disappointed in the Forest Service and SLTPD for the way they handled this situation. I am also deeply disappointed in The Tribune for publishing completely false information, Did you even check medical reports before publishing this story? Who were your sources? Were they reliable? I hope you wouldn’t say yes by the false information reported. My family, friends and myself all life long locals all agree the tribune has lost credibility in our eyes and the SLTPD and Forest Service has also lost our respect. I would like to see a correction of your story and I hope this individual seeks justice with a lawyer for what happened to him.
Thank you all for your comments. The information provided to LTN came from two law enforcement agencies that were called in to assist.
For two days LTN has been trying to get info out of the USFS, but the agency is not cooperating.
When we have more details, we will provide them.
There was no reason at the time of the publishing of this article to believe any of the information was not correct. We obviously knew we didn’t have the full story and all along planned to provide more as official details came out.
If anyone would like to speak with LTN on the record, please email info@LakeTahoeNews.net so we can get your side of the story.
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
So in other words admin, you were essentially sitting on your couch listening to the police scanner and decided to type up the first chatter that sounded interesting before actually getting any semblance of an official statement from any agency.
If you’re going to publish initial reports like this, call the brand of armchair reporting what it is by informing readers of your complete uncertainty of the actual truth of the situation.
After this story is confirmed can admin set a a link to donate to this citizen?
On July 4, Forest Service law enforcement officers responded to a fight at Ski Beach, west of Baldwin Beach. Nearly 70 people were involved, and officers estimate that 1000-1500 people were on the beach altogether. A subject attempted to assault a Forest Service officer and the K9 was used to apprehend him. The dog is fully trained and certified in patrol, narcotics detection and handler protection. Other Forest Service law enforcement officers helped restrain the subject. At this point, the officers were surrounded and the crowd was taunting them and yelling profanities. The officers called for back-up and five other enforcement agencies responded. The Forest Service officers immediately called for medical aid to assist the subject. The subject was treated and released on scene and refused further service. Forest Service law enforcement issued three citations for fighting and further charges are pending.
To: Deeply Disappointed — this site is not the Tribune.
To: Too many others — “you’re” means you are;
“your” means you own it;
“should’ve”(have), not “should of”
Is this, perhaps, the same USFS that seems to have a rogue law enforcement officer on the west slope that they not only won’t talk about but are apparently refusing to accept any citizen complaints about? Are we maybe beginning to see a pattern?
The gorgeous young stud of a man that was trying to break up the fight with inhuman speed was not taken to the hospital after the dog attacked his oh so supple honey bun cheeks. I personally know that his sister took him to the ER later that night to get the wounds looked at. At the ER it was said that Mr. Honey buns was quite the pleasure to have as a patient you could hear at least one person say “dam I’m surprised the girls weren’t attacking you too with such a sweet piece of meat pie on your back side” Mr. Sweet cheeks did not attack any police or forest service personal the dog was in my very humble opinion way to much and extremly excessive. Mr. Sweet cheeks may the gods smile upon your courageous soul you Greek god georgeous man. If anyone has any questions or comments I’m sure I could answer all of them for you.
I would not be to hard on Lake Tahoe News staff.
Gee why would they think two law enforcement agencies would lie to the press?
And when did the USFS start doing local policing with K-9’s ? How the hell?
This is just one incident where the readers here had forest hand knowledge of what really happened. Think about that every time you read a police report about some bad guy interacting with your local police and I guess now the USFS?
“forest hand knowledge ”
Go how mitt, you’re drunk.
The symphony of car alarms have started. The dimwits are getting violent on the beaches.
The idiocracy is nigh.
Luckily there are photos and video from the incident which will prove the facts there was not 70 people involved nor did the man attempt to assault the officer.
Thank goodness our “real” law enforcement doesn’t jump to such conclusions or there would be true mayhem daily. It would be wise to schedule or employ more sheriff officers who are properly trained to deal with large crowds and not act rash. I feel sorry for the dog involved as he obviously has either not been properly trained or has not yet completed training and had no business being in at the hands of a panicked handler.
Hopefully a “real” judge will hear the case and the appropriate individuals will suffer the final consequence.
Cheva Heck, you make me seriously doubt the integrity of your agency’s law enforcement officers and the credibility of their eye witness testimony if their official report is claiming there were “nearly 70” people involved in the fight.
The altercation could have been successfully stopped without the excessive use of K9 force on an innocent Good Samaritan. Shame on the USFS and LTBMU if you continue to prosecute the man who was wrongly attacked by the K9.
Do not waste your time complaining to the Forest Service. Complain to your Congressman and Senators. Washington will ask the FS for the truth and no one at the FS wants to say anything that can be contradicted by video.
Cheva Heck, I am absolutely dumbfounded by the inaccurate information you choose to post on a public forum, especially as a representative of your organization and a public figure. I witnessed the fight from the very beginning when a man punched another individual (who was wearing a knee brace) in the face and knocked him to the ground. The individual who was bit by the k9 was trying to break up the fight. He in no way fought the officer or threatened him. In fact, he was pulling the aggressor off the victim when the USFS officer brought the dog in, without any warning or warrant of such force. Once bit, the individual immediately laid down and did not fight back. The aggressor ran off (and was apprehended 20 min later) while both the punching and dog bite victim were detained for two hours. The PD did an excellent job in their investigation and Officer Martin was outstanding in describing the procedures and taking witness statements. I offered my statement to the USFS enforcement and none took a statement, some investigation. As a local (as well as both victims being life long locals) it would be nice to have some accountability from an agency that royally screwed up. Yet you continue to create drama by claiming 70 people were involved when in reality there were 3, 2 victims and 1 aggressor who was apprehended by PD not USFS because the PD actually cared about witness statements. People are upset because this story was published inaccurately and now you continue to release false information as a public representative. Shame on you
There is always three sides to a story. His, hers & somewhere in the middle is accurate. I will always question when a public agency refuses to answer a question that the public has a right to know. The press reports what they hear from others, even when they have several different versions. Quit being so critical toward the reporters and focus on the participants. (USFS & SLTPD & the perp)