Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Canine enforcement discussed
DAVENPORT — A complaint about an alleged lack of enforcement of local dog ordinances and state RCWs by the city and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office sparked a debate between a sergeant and citizen at city council’s meeting Wednesday, June 14.
Brenda Hendrickson spoke during public comments, voicing her displeasure with how the city and Sheriff’s Office has dealt with an unruly dog at her neighbor Shannon Karlinsey’s home on 14th Street.
“They have multiple dogs that bark incessantly,” Hendrickson lamented. “They were never cited after their dog bit my dog…is the city failing to enforce this, or is the Sheriff’s Office not enforcing the city’s ordinances?”
Councilman Johnathan Chapman said council is working on rewriting city ordinances to better address the issue. Fellow councilman Cory Hollis, also a 14th Street neighbor of Karlinsey, said he shared Hendrickson’s frustration.
“I’ve been dealing with the same issue,” Hollis said.
Sergeant Jerad McLagan asked to speak and said tickets have been written at Karlinsey’s home in the past.
“We’ve gotten more calls on that house than anyone in the county,” McLagan said. “But so far you’ve only shown us audio recordings of the barking, and can an audio recording prove it’s that particular dog? We have to witness it ourselves or have a video. My deputies are ordered to cite immediately if they witness a civil infraction.”
A clearly frustrated Hendrickson responded, “so I need to get this on video for you guys to do something about this?”
She later angrily stormed out of council’s meeting. But her complaints didn’t go without consequence, as police records indicate a complaint was made at Karlinsey’s house that night accusing the dog of getting outside the property onto 14th Street…this time with video recording.
Police wrote a citation that night, according to records.
It’s Karlinsey’s third dog-related citation in the last 2.5 years, according to records.
Current city code forbids owners from allowing dogs to be at-large within corporate limits unless inside a vehicle or on a leash. A public nuisance citation can be written if a dog is barking incessantly between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
It’s a civil offense if a dog attacks or bites another person or domestic animal unprovoked.
On the law enforcement side, Sheriff Gabe Gants said his office refers to state RCW 10.31.100 when enforcing misdemeanors, which he said must be witnessed by an officer for an arrest.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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