Pit bulls kill three, or maybe four, in last days of January 2024
Merritt Clifton posted: " Detroit pit bull victim Harold Phillips is on life support INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana; BLACKFOOT, Idaho; DETROIT, Michigan; OCEAN VIEW, Hawaii––Less than 48 hours before January 2024 might have become the first month since November 2020 with" Animals 24-7Read on blog or Reader
Detroit pit bull victim Harold Phillips is on life support
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana; BLACKFOOT, Idaho; DETROIT, Michigan; OCEAN VIEW, Hawaii––Less than 48 hours before January 2024 might have become the first month since November 2020 without a pit bull-inflicted human fatality occurring somewhere around the U.S., Carlon Galloway, Willie Mundine, Harold Phillips, and Sommer Crivello all ran out of luck.
Pit bulls had killed 101 Americans in the 37 months since the last month without a fatal pit bull attack, an average of nearly three a month.
Willie Mundine. (Facebook photo)
Law of averages kicked in hard
The first twenty-nine days of 2024 passed before the law of averages kicked in, hard.
Willie Mundine, 85, with his wife Betty, were pastors at the Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Willie Mundine reportedly died protecting Betty Mundine from the two pit bulls who killed him.
Carlon Galloway, 19, of the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, was a fugitive from justice. Details of how Carlon Galloway came to be mauled by multiple pit bulls have yet to be released by law enforcement.
Sommer Knoeonalani Crivello. (Facebook photo)
Sommer Crivello died protecting her goat
Harold Phillips, 35, of Detroit, Michigan, alive but in a medically induced coma at this writing, with a grim prognosis, had just stepped off a bus after buying clothes for a job interview.
Sommer Crivello, 42, of Ocean View, Hawaii, died protecting her pet goat from her own pit bull, not far from where Robert Northrop, 71, was on August 1, 2023 killed by four free-roaming pit bulls belonging to a neighbor.
Willie Mundine, Carlon Galloway, Harold Phillips and Sommer Crivello all died in places notorious for previous pit bull attacks, often fatal, and for repeated failures of local animal control agencies to effectively enforce non-breed-specific dog ordinances, even after neighbors and previous victims of the pit bulls involved had complained repeatedly.
Indianapolis Animal Care Services, reported Kaitlyn Kendall and James Howell Jr. of WRTV, on January 29, 2024 failed to find two free-roaming pit bulls in Willie Mundine's neighborhood, believed to be part of the same pack of three pit bulls who broke into Mundine's back yard the next day, menacing Betty Mundine.
"My granddaddy came out to try to shoo them away," Willie and Betty Mundine's granddaughter Holly Watkins told Kendall and Howell.
"We ran and he couldn't get in fast enough. Two pit bulls, I guess, they attacked him," Watkins recounted.
Willie & Betty Mundine. (Family handout).
Willie Mundine "saved my life"
Betty Mundine told WPTA 21 Alive, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, that Willie Mundine "saved my life. He was a hero," Betty Mundine continued. "Thank God for him. He lived to be 85 years old. He's been blessed. He is going to be missed."
Charged the Mundine's daughter, Melissa, "These dogs are just loose, and they've been on the loose for weeks."
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer shot one of the pit bulls in the back to stop the attack on Willie Mundine, after which Indianapolis Animal Care Services "was able to secure the dog in a stable condition," according to WPTA, though immediate euthanasia would appear to have been in order.
Indianapolis Animal Care Services later captured the second pit bull, but the third was still loose after nightfall.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Dante's inferno
On January 31, 2024, Indianapolis Animal Care Services finally "talked to one man who said he was attacked by the same dogs last week," reported John Doran for WTHR.
"Mark Lowe was walking his dog Dante," five days earlier, Doran summarized. "He said about two blocks from his house, they were ambushed by two aggressive dogs.
"They just grabbed him, first of all, the pit did and started taking him to the ground, fighting him," Lowe said. "I go in with punches, and that's when the little one, the black one, started attacking me."
Resumed Doran, "A neighbor came to his rescue and scared the aggressive dogs off. Lowe called authorities after the attack and filed a report."
"I told animal control that these dogs were going to kill somebody," Lowe recounted.
Deputy Sheriff Tamieka White.
Long history of ignoring the problem
Kendall and Howell of WRTV noted that reported dog bites in Indianapolis rose from 720 in 2021 to 834 in 2022, and 1,135 in 2023.
But Indianapolis, including the greater Indianapolis metropolitan area, has a long history of largely ignoring dangerous dogs, especially pit bulls, whom a succession of animal control directors and executive directors of the Indianapolis Humane Society have vigorously defended, despite at least six pit bull-inflicted fatalities since 2005 and many severely disfiguring injuries.
Animal control chief killed pit bull sterilization ordinance
Noting that the Indianapolis Animal Services shelter, as the Indianapolis Animal Care Services was then called, was perpetually filled with unadoptable pit bulls, then-Indianapolis city councilor Mike Speedy in 2009 introduced a proposed At Risk Dogs bylaw
The At Risk Dogs bylaw would have required that pit bull terriers be sterilized, modeled on legislation in effect in San Francisco since January 2006.
The San Francisco bylaw in only two years had achieved a 23% reduction in shelter intakes of pit bulls and a 33% reduction in the number of pit bulls killed by animal control.
The At Risk Dogs bylaw was killed, however, by opposition led by then-Indianapolis animal control chief Doug Rae.
Speedy, later elected to state office, now appears to be out of politics.
Carlon Galloway. (Facebook photo)
Carlon Galloway
The death of Carlon Galloway became known through a GoFundMe posting from his aunt Sandra Lora, seeking donations toward funeral expenses after "Carlon Delacruz passed away due to a sudden dog attack" on January 31, 2024.
"The Bingham County Coroner's Office has identified the man who died as Carlon Galloway, 19, of Fort Hall," updated the Idaho State Journal.
The fatal attack "was reported around noon at a residence south of Blackfoot, the Bingham County Sheriff's Office said.
"Bingham County coroner Jimmy Roberts said the man died at the scene," the Idaho State Journal added. "Roberts said that when he was at the scene authorities euthanized several dogs."
Carlon Galloway. (Blackfoot Police Department Photo)
"Felony arrest warrant issued"
Only one day earlier the Idaho State Journal reported that "A felony arrest warrant has been issued for Carlon Galloway after he was identified as a subject of interest in relation to an incident that unfolded around 10:50 a.m. in which Idaho State Probation and Parole officers observed 'several subjects fleeing the area on foot of an active crime scene.'
"Police have not said what crime Galloway is accused of committing nor have they provided any specifics about the crime scene," the Idaho State Journal continued, but "information was broadcast to responding units that one of the subjects may be in possession of a firearm."
Three Blackfoot public schools were ordered into a "shelter in place" protocol.
A second person involved in the incident for which Carlon Galloway was sought was apprehended, and "was not armed with a firearm," the Idaho State Journal said.
Kallen Islas. (Beth Clifton collage)
Kellan Islas
Kellan Islas, age 7, was killed and his mother Emily Carroll Islas, 30, was severely injured by two pit bulls and two Rottweilers on January 21, 2023 at Fort Hall, on the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation.
Reported ShoBan News, "All four dogs were shot and killed by Fort Hall police and the Fort Hall game warden."
The pit bull and Rottweiler owners, Benny Wolfchild and Juliana Wolfchild, "were issued citations for 15 violations of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Animal Ordinance," ShoBan News continued, "including vicious animal attack, rabies vaccination, and over the limit of canine or feline pets."
Shauntaye & Harold Phillips. (Facebook photo)
Harold Phillips
"The family of Harold Phillips has retained Fieger Law after three dogs mauled a father of six," updated Gino Vicci of CBS Detroit on the evening of February 1, 2024.
"He's not doing good, we're just praying," said Shauntaye Phillips, Harold Phillips' wife of 11 years.
"The dogs bit a pretty big hole out of his arm and tore his artery, so he lost a lot of blood. He is on dialysis. He has to keep getting transfusions. They cut off his right arm," Shauntaye Phillips told Vicci.
"Sadly, Shauntaye said the prognosis doesn't look good," continued Vicci. "To make matters worse, the family is celebrating their daughter's eighth birthday with her father fighting for his life in the hospital.
Harold Phillips. (Facebook photo)
"God has the final say"
"He is in a medically-induced coma, his kidneys aren't doing good, and his enzyme levels are really high," Shauntaye Phillips explained.
"He is not expected to make it," Shauntaye Phillips acknowledged in a GoFundMe posting. "I don't want to say 'funeral,' but that's the road we are on.
"Harold's condition at this time is not improving. His organs are shutting down. I will not take him off the ventilator 'cause God has the final say," Shauntaye Phillips added.
Resumed Vicci, "James Harrington, the attorney representing the family, said his initial investigation revealed that animal control had cited the owners in the past and was aware that the dogs were dangerous."
Former Detroit CEO Hakim Berry hired animal control chief Mark Kumpf. (Beth Clifton collage)
Motown bureaucrat passes the buck
Crystal Perkins, Detroit executive director of general services, blamed the attack on noncompliance with the city animal control ordinance
Dog owners "have to make sure their yard is secure," Perkins told Vicci.
Perkins also noted that, "The ordinance was changed just a few years ago to limit the number of docs that a residence can have to two. This particular household had more than the two."
"The owners of the dogs that attacked and severely injured Phillips had four," Vicci noted.
After Harold Phillips was attacked, three of the pit bulls who mauled him were euthanized, the fourth pit bull was impounded, "and the owners received 10 citations at $500 per, totaling $5,000 in fines," Vicci explained.
Neighbor Sandra Lucas, with broom, and reggae musician Oneil Colley, with steering wheel lock, fought off a pit bull in February 2019 to save the life of a Detroit mail carrier. (From Oneil Colley dash camera video)
"Residents need to be educated"
But the odds of the city ever collecting any of the money are not good.
"Moving forward," summarized Vicci, "Perkins said residents need to be educated on the city's animal ordinance and being responsible dog owners."
Said Perkins, "I've been telling my staff we're going to do a campaign and promote that throughout the city."
But what about doing a pro-active campaign, enforcing the dog laws by impounding free-roaming pit bulls and other dangerous dogs before someone is killed or disfigured for life?
(Beth Clifton collage)
Three previous bite cases
Roy Goodman, identified as owner of the pit bulls who mauled Harold Phillips, told Kimberly Craig of WXYZ "that the dogs he and his wife own have been involved in three previous dog bite cases, including one involving a child," Craig summarized.
"After the child situation, the one dog should have definitely been put down," Goodman acknowledged.
Explained Craig, "According to animal control, in 2021, when one of the dogs belonging to the Goodmans bit a child, we're told it was determined that the dog bite was 'provoked' and animal control classified the injury as 'non-severe.'
"The dog was quarantined and returned to the couple and they were fined, according to a spokesperson for Detroit Animal Care & Control, who added that the same dog was one of the three involved in the attack on Harold Phillips," Craig said.
Roy Goodman. (WXYZ Channel 7 photo from video).
Active warrant
Craig further investigated.
"Court records show that in January 2021, Roy Goodman was charged with failing to prevent an animal from engaging in nuisance/menacing behavior, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty but for some reason, the case was dismissed later that year," Craig recounted.
Also in 2021, Craig continued, "Goodman's wife was charged with having too many dogs, a misdemeanor. The case against Goodman's wife dragged on. Court records show she was a no-show on several occasions. Eventually, a warrant was issued for her arrest, and court records show that warrant is still active," three years after the January 2021 incident.
Nor was that all.
"Roy Goodman told 7 Action News," Craig reported, "that in addition to the child being bitten, a contractor was bitten, as well as another adult on another occasion. The attack on Phillips was the fourth incident" involving the Goodman pit bulls.
Mark Kumpf with pit bull advocate Jane Berkey, who helped Kumpf to undo the Ohio law recognizing pit bulls as inherently "vicious."
Nine dog attack deaths on Mark Kumpf's watch
Finished Craig, "Goodman said he wanted the dog who bit the child to be euthanized. When asked why that didn't happen, Goodman replied, 'My wife and the animal control did what they did and got him released. They returned him to my wife, and when I decided to stay with my wife, I had to accept that she kept that dog."
Detroit Animal Care & Control chief Mark Kumpf, introduced in the position on September 23, 2019, has now had four fatal dog attacks on his watch in Detroit, after having had five on his watch at his previous position in Montgomery County, Ohio.
Several of the Montgomery County fatalities, like the mauling of Harold Phillips and the October 18, 2023 pit bull mauling death of four-year-old Lovell Anderson in Detroit, involved failures to impound dogs who had repeatedly been reported for dangerous behavior.
Dayton pit bull victims Maurice Brown & Jonathan Quarles; Mark Kumpf; victim Klonda Richey. (Beth Clifton collage)
Dismantled Ohio dangerous dog law
While heading Montgomery County Animal Services, Kumpf helped to lead a legislative campaign that dismantled the Ohio dangerous dog law, which recognized pit bulls as "inherently vicious," requiring that they be kept under strong security.
Nineteen Ohio residents have been killed by pit bulls and other formerly restricted dog breeds since the dog law was weakened.
Kumpf is not the only prominent pit bull advocate heading a Detroit-area animal care agency. And Kumpf is not the only head of a Detroit-area animal care agency to have been in his position through more dog attack fatalities than anyone else in the world, ever, heading a comparable agency.
Michigan Humane Society president Matt Pepper. (MHS photo)
Sergeant Pepper on the Memphis beat
Michigan Humane Society president Matt Pepper, a longtime pit bull advocate, headed the Memphis Animal Shelter when in July 2010 two pit bulls mauled William Parker, 71, who suffered a fatal heart attack during the mauling.
The two pit bulls also injured two paramedics, a bystander, and Parker's daughter Gardenia when she tried to rescue her father.
The pit bull owner, Bernard Humphrey, was a registered sex offender. His girlfriend, Sherry Wooten, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
(Beth Clifton collage)
"It's wonderful to be here; it's certainly a thrill"
Pepper came to the Michigan Humane Society, which does not have animal control responsibilities, in 2014.
Since then, 26 dogs have participated in killing 12 people within the Michigan Humane Society service radius.
Among those dogs were 22 pit bulls (85%), two Rottweilers, a husky, and a Doberman.
Lovell Anderson. (Beth Clifton collage)
Twenty years of Motown mayhem
Altogether, forty-four dogs have participated in killing at least 20 Michigan residents since 2004, fifteen of whom were killed in Detroit.
Thirty-one of those dogs were pit bulls; three more, a pair of Cane Corsos and a bullmastiff, were pit bull variants. Four were Rottweilers, three were huskies, and one was a wolf hybrid.
Little information is available as yet about the January 31, 2024 death of Sommer Kanoeonalani Crivello, 42, the last reported dog attack death of the month, except that police responding to a call about her dog attacking her goat discovered her remains in her yard.
Beth & Merritt Clifton
Crivello had a possible defensive wound on her hand, but reportedly had no other visible injuries. The circumstances suggest heart failure under stress.
An autopsy is expected to furnish further details.
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