Reports of dogs biting people on the Big Island have increased dramatically in the past five years, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
According to HPD statistics, there were 87 reports of dog bites in 2019, with two dog owners arrested and another two receiving citations from police. Through November 2023, 279 dog bites were reported to police, with two arrests and 19 citations of dog owners.
“It’s really hard to say,” said Lt. William Derr of East Hawaii Community Policing when asked about the cause of the sharp hike in dog bite reports. “Honestly, your guess is as good as mine.”
Community Policing officers are on the front lines when it comes to vicious dogs, along with patrol officers from each district.
“We can become involved, because we deal with a lot of neighbor versus neighbor disputes. And oftentimes, that might involve animals, like dogs barking, dogs loose. We try to mediate the issue between neighbors so it doesn’t escalate,” Derr said. “We’re about deescalation and trying to help neighbors find common ground. And that often involves dogs.”
Derr said he didn’t know if the novel coronavirus pandemic played a role in the increase in the number of dog bite reports.
The largest uptick happened, however, between 2020 — the year the pandemic began — and 2021, the first full pandemic year.
In 2020, there were 107 dog bite reports, with one owner arrested and another cited by officers.
In 2021, reported dog bites increased to 185 — a 72.9% escalation. No arrests were made, but 12 citations were issued.
On Aug. 14, 2021, 85-year-old Dolores Oskins of Hawaiian Paradise Park was mauled by three unrestrained dogs belonging to a neighbor. Oskins suffered critical injuries, and died at Hilo Medical Center on Sept. 5, 2021, 24 days after the attack.
In response, Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz introduced Bill 125, which was passed into law in April 2022 as Hawaii County Code 4-4-32. The charge of negligent failure to control a dangerous dog is now a Class C felony that carries a potential five-year prison term and up to a $10,000 fine.
There were 231 dog bite incidents reported in 2022, a 24.9% increase from the year prior. One arrest was made, and 17 dog owners were cited by officers.
This past year, 2023, proved to be a particularly brutal year for dog attacks, with one individual seriously injured and another who succumbed to his injuries after being mauled by four dogs.
A May 27 attack on Bamboo Drive in Ainaloa Estates subdivision in Puna seriously injured Amber Clausen, then 32. Clausen suffered bite wounds resulting in fractures to both arms, multiple puncture wounds, and lacerations.
She was hospitalized at Hilo Medical Center for treatment of her injuries.
A neighbor, Frederick Kassebeer, was arrested and charged under the county felony law for failure to control a dangerous dog, plus allowing a dog to stray. Kassebeer’s wife, Kazzy, was later indicted, resulting in a citation.
Both pleaded not guilty to the charges — which were dismissed in November by Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota. The couple underwent restorative justice, a form of mediation where the accused and the victim sit face-to-face with a staffer of the prosecutor’s office present.
Terms of the agreement are not public. The dismissal, which occurred after a motion by prosecutors, was with prejudice — which means the state cannot refile the charges.
On Aug. 1, 71-year-old Bob Northrop was killed when fatally mauled by four dogs on the roadway of Outrigger Drive in Ocean View.
Police concluded their investigation into the case and submitted the results to prosecutors on Oct. 30, according to Capt. Akira Edmoundson, commander of HPD’s West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Division.
To date, no one has been arrested and charged, nor have the dogs’ owners been publicly identified by authorities. But police say the dogs’ owners relinquished all four animals plus a litter of 10 puppies to county Animal Control agents after the attack.
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.
According to police, through November last year, there were 279 reported dog bites, with two dog owners arrested and 19 cited. That’s a 20.8% increase in reports over all of 2022.
Matthew Runnells, county Animal Control and Protection administrator, said the department’s animal control officers go through six months of training, “learning the skills needed to make cases and investigate reports of neglect, cruelty, allowing animals to stray, barking dog issues and dangerous animal cases.”
“If the case requires a citation to be written, the officers have the power to write a citation, but if the case involves felony charges, our officers do not have the power to arrest,” Runnells said. “The evidence for those cases would require police involvement, and the evidence that we collect would be turned over to the responding police. Our officers are not armed, and so many times, we call for a police assist with citizens that are combative or difficult to manage.”
According to the Animal Control and Protection Agency web page, between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., citizens should report stray, noisy or dangerous dogs to the Animal Control dispatch line at (808) 327-3558. During all other hours, those reports should be made to the HPD nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.