Police have wrapped up their investigation into a fatal dog attack on Aug. 1 in Ocean View and forwarded the case to the Hawaii County prosecutor’s office for potential charges.
“That was sent out on Oct. 30,” Capt. Akira Edmoundson, commander of the West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section, told the Tribune-Herald on Thursday, referring to the investigation report. “And the reason it took so long was we were just waiting for the autopsy report from the doctor. I guess he was busy with the Maui fires.”
According to police, the attack by four dogs killed 71-year-old Bob Northrop of Ocean View on the roadway of Outrigger Drive.
Northrop’s daughter, Shannon Matson, told the Tribune-Herald in early September that her father was walking to a friend’s house, hoping for a ride to Kailua-Kona, when the deadly attack occurred.
Police say the dogs’ owners relinquished all four animals plus a litter of 10 puppies to county Animal Control agents after the attack.
Edmoundson’s explanation didn’t sit well with Northrop’s ex-wife, who wrote a letter to the editor, published Oct. 10, that said one of her daughters was contacted by someone who claimed to have been attacked by the same dogs responsible for Bob Northrop’s fatal mauling.
“They have a lot of excuses,” Stephanie Northrop said Friday, referring to police. “They have the autopsy. They have everything they need. It’s just that nothing’s being done. Nothing.
“They attacked somebody before,” she continued, referring to the dogs. “And (the victim or victims) reported it to the police. And as far as I know, nothing has been done.
“But you can’t get any information from (police). They won’t talk to you. Animal Control won’t talk to you.”
Stephanie Northrop said the family is “definitely considering litigation” in regard to the fatal attack.
“I’m feeling very angry,” she said. “I’m feeling that there’s some kind of weird cover-up going on that I don’t understand. I feel the police maybe dropped the ball the first time the dogs attacked somebody. And now that the dogs killed somebody, they’re acting like nothing happened.”
The police investigation into Bob Northrop’s death was classified as a negligent failure to control a dangerous dog case. A Thursday call by the Tribune-Herald to county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen wasn’t returned in time for this story.
The dogs’ owners, whose names haven’t been made public, haven’t been arrested or booked on suspicion of the charges — which could be as serious as a Class B felony with a potential 10-year prison term.
Stephanie Northrop described the length of time that has passed with no charges have been filed as “very odd.”
“I’ve had friends’ dogs that killed an animal, and (the friends) had to go to court within a month. So, how come it’s taking this long for them to even get this to court?” she said. “I feel like if it was a triathlete that got attacked, there would be something happening, you know? But because it’s out in Ocean View, and it’s some old man — it’s like, I don’t know.”
According to Stephanie Northrop, the one officer she has spoken to described the dogs’ owners as “very remorseful.”
“I don’t really care that they’re remorseful, especially since their dogs have already attacked somebody and nothing was done. I just don’t understand,” she said. “I feel like everything could’ve been avoided if the police had dealt with it to begin with. So, I’m very angry at the police. I’m very angry at the people that own the dogs. Anybody would be angry.”
The victim’s ex-wife also said she finds it “very odd” that the island’s newspapers haven’t learned or published the names of the dog owners.
“I know that people are considered innocent until proven guilty,” she said. “But it seems like everybody’s name gets tossed out there — and their name hasn’t been in the paper once, that I’ve seen.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
