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Former officer found not guilty in Grover Beach fatal dog attack

April 13, 2019

Kings County Deputy Sheriff Alex Geiger and “Boss” with a demonstration at Hidden Valley Park in Hanford, California in 2013.

A jury found former Grover Beach police officer Alex Geiger not guilty on Friday of two felony counts alleging he did not maintain control of his retired police dog before it attacked and killed a neighbor, and one felony count of manslaughter. [Cal Coast Times]

While the defense argued the death was a tragic accident that the victim may have provoked with a BB gun, the prosecution claimed there was considerable evidence that the Geiger’s dogs were dangerous. The prosecution also raised questions about issues with securing the fence the dogs broke through.

During closing arguments, Geiger’s attorney Melina Benninghoff and Judge Jacquelyn Duffy questioned prosecutor Steve Wagner’s tactics. On three occasions, Benninghoff objected because Eagner was using facts not in evidence, with the judge agreeing each time, according to KSBY.

On Dec. 12, 2016, the two dogs belonging to Geiger chewed through a fence, broke loose and attacked a 64-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman. The man, David Fear, died shortly after the attack, while the elderly woman, Betty Long, survived serious injuries.

In a statement released shortly after the verdict was read, District Attorney Dan Dow said he plans to continue to support the victims and their families.

“While disappointed with the result, the District Attorney’s Office wishes to thank the Jury for their diligent service to our community in hearing the case of People v. Alex Geiger,” Dow said.  “The facts of this case are tragic for all involved and the incident has greatly affected the families of the victims Mr. David Fear and Ms. Betty Long.  Our staff at the Christopher G. Money Victim Witness Assistance Center will continue to provide available support to the victim’s families going forward.”


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We love people in authority, who wear uniforms, who carry guns, wear body armor and have dogs trained to kill more than we love life itself.


I’ve said it before….this is probably the last time I’ll say it: Had Mr. Fear broken through his fence and ran over to the dog’s yard and chewed off their paws causing them to bleed to death, Mr. Fear would have been charged with murder of a police officer and would have been found guilty for a heinous crime!


(can you imagine what sort of sicko kills a dog with his teeth? Such a person should be locked up for life in order to protect us all!)


But since it was the other way around…Geiger having trained the dog to attack people, bite their hands, show aggressive behavior etc….with the dog getting out and killing a non-ranking human being Geiger is innocent.


Indeed, the jury has spoken. Not guilty means exactly what it says.


Some people are more equal than others. Even some dogs are more equal than people.


Mr. Fear’s life is only worth a small amount….no uniform, no special rights, no belonging to a worshipful class of nobility. He wasn’t a cop or member of another special class of people. In other words, even if Geiger was found guilty—-and he was NOT—Mr. Fear’s life isn’t worth much compared to a cop’s.


The jury has basically said that cops are held to a different set of standards, laws and justice than mundane serfs.


Everyone’s OK with this, right?


4

I left out husband or wife of a gov employee will be in the jury pool along with active or retired gov employees


-1

In this case as with most cases in SLO courts….The jury was comprised of CMC officers and other city county and state employees as private businesses can’t afford to have an employee and or the employee can’t afford to do jury duty …So the outcome will always be fry the common citizen and let the gov employee off .DA only prosecuted this case to make it appear as no favoritism but DA knew how to have the proper jurors notified of jury duty .. The defendants attorney was happy as a clam as he knew there would be no conviction from the start .Joe citizen would not have allowed any gov employee on his or her jury panel. But in the end would end up with gov employees or retired ones on their jury


-1

What a travesty. Two lives heavily impacted by the negligence of a supposedly trained police officer. Dangerous dogs and incompetent care account for many such instances and our society is lame to the max in dealing with such issues.


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