Dog that killed Grover Beach man history of biting

January 24, 2017

The former police dog that attacked and killed a 64-year-old Grover Beach man once bit an officer on the hand. The bite likely was not a serious misstep by the dog, and Exeter Police Department records show the K-9’s only other training problem was disobeying commands to “stay” during a couple of sessions. [Tribune]

However, sources within the police department previously told CalCoastNews that the K-9 had some training and behavioral issues. Likewise, the dog’s handler, Grover Beach officer Alex Geiger, had significantly less experience than is typically required of officers who work in K-9 units.

Geiger lived with the Belgian Malinois, Neo, for a year while working for the Exeter force. Geiger left Exeter in the fall to join the Grover Beach Police Department.

While leaving Exeter, Geiger purchased Neo from the Central Valley city for $5,287.50. Geiger brought Neo to Grover Beach as his personal pet, but he quickly began lobbying Chief John Peters to create a K-9 unit.

Then on Dec. 13, Neo attacked Betty Long, 85, in front of her Grover Beach yard. Long’s neighbor, David Fear, went to assist the woman, and the Belgian Malinois turned his aggression on the Grover Beach man.

Fear lost six pints of blood as a result of the attack. The dog bites severed two arteries in his arm, and Fear developed an infection from the bites. Fear died in the hospital four days after the attack.

Long suffered a broken pelvis and a broken shoulder. The elderly woman is currently in a rehab facility.

Last March, Geiger penned a memo to the Exter K-9 unit describing the incident in which Neo bit an officer. Geiger’s memo stated Neo was participating in a weekly bite training session at a neighboring police department during which trainers instructed him to engage an officer who was wearing a bite suit.

Neo grabbed ahold of a part of the suit near the right hand and bit the hand, causing about a half-inch cut to the officer’s palm. The bite was minor, but it drew blood, Geiger wrote.

The dog released its bite when instructed to do so, according to Geiger’s account. It is unclear if the trainer’s hand was dangling out of the suit at the time.

Neo continued to work as a patrol dog for six months thereafter.

When Gieger took Neo with him to Grover Beach, the officer signed a waiver that relieved the city of Exeter of any future liability pertaining to the dog.

Following the December attack, Geiger turned Neo over to San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, which euthanized the dog. Animal services completed its investigation into the incident in late December and submitted the case to the SLO County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors have yet to announce whether they will file charges against Geiger.

Geiger remains on paid administrative leave from the Grover Beach Police Department. Neighbors said the officer promptly moved out of the home he was renting after the dog attack. Geiger had been living in a house on Owens Court that was around the corner from the location of the attack.