I met Chuck, Janet and Dusty on the steps of 850 Bryant. I had my tape recorder with me.

nessie: Okay, who are you, and why are you here?

Chuck: I'm Charles Blaton, B-l-a-t-o-n. I'm here for Court for no leash on my dog. It happened about a month ago. They shot and killed my dog, and they wrote me ticket. I'm here to . . . ah, and my name wasn't on the list. I guess they dropped it.

nessie: So where did this happen?

Chuck: On Indiana Street about noon time, was it?

Dusty: yeah, about noon.

nessie: So -- so tell me how it happened.

Chuck: All right. Dusty, my friend here, was, like, outside fixing a flat tire, you know. There is a dog park half a block up the street, right? He's fixing his tire. I'm inside the truck, and my dog is, like, in the front seat, and he's . . . all day I kinda ignored him playing my game boy, and he was ready to go for a run.

He loves riding, running alongside my bicycle. So I finally got him, let's go, you know, and I didn't know they were outside. They already had their guns drawn on Dusty, and his dogs.

I opened the door, and Tip went out the door running because we were going for a run. He saw the gun, and he saw his friend on the ground face down, and he e started running towards the officer, the one officer, and I yelled at him, and he had slowed down. I mean, he was almost stopped. And he was starting to turn.

He was a good thirty feet away from the officer when he shot him. It went all the way through his body, and that dog was thick. The guy, the officer, was Sharif Nasir. He's a horrible human being because he didn't have to do that. He got off on it, you know what I mean? Him and his Terminator sunglasses, he, like, totally got off on killing my dog right in front of me. If it wouldn't have hit my dog, it would have hit me.

And when he shot him, I kinda lost control myself, you know, well, you know, I was crying And he holstered his gun, and he, like, disappeared, you know, and I was yelling at his partner trying to, like, I don't know, I was kind of irate. I didn't know what to do, and I started beating my head on the side of truck. I said I don't want to live now. That was my life, right?

And he tries to, like, put my arm behind my back, and he's just a little guy cop, you know, and it's like I could have easily, you know, done something to him, but I didn't, and I co-operated with him. He cuffed me and put me in the car, and while this was happening my friend, Janet . . .

nessie: Did he charge you with anything?

Chuck: No. He just threw me in the car.

My friend, Janet, came, She heard me screaming. She comes out of the truck herself. She just had hip replacement surgery. She didn't have her cane with her, but they basically tackled . . . slammed her on the ground after we . . . after they were well aware that she had a hip replacement surgery recently, slammed her on the ground, arrested her, gave her. . . charged her with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, and a cop, one cop, said that she struck him and broke his glasses. He broke his own glasses 'cause he's a little dweeb trying to tackle a crippled woman, you know what I mean? I don't know what occurred, but he broke his own glasses. She didn’t. I know that.

Okay, they charged her with resisting arrest and assault on police officer. In my experience everybody who's ever got that charge went to jail. But they put her in a paddy wagon, and then they released her, wrote her a ticket. They wrote me a ticket for no leash on my dog, and my leash is hanging out of my pocket. I didn't even have time to put the leash on my dog.

nessie: So you were half a block from a dog park?

Chuck: Half a block from a dog park, and they come out of their cars with their guns drawn.

nessie: Did they announce themselves? What was the call?

Dusty: This is what went on, right?

nessie: Okay, so this is the other guy. What's your name?

Dusty: My name is Dusty.

nessie: You saw this happen. Tell me what happened.

Dusty: I'm outside the truck fixing a flat tire on my bicycle, and I'm having some problems with the patch. I'm not the best patcher in the world, right? Okay. My girlfriend comes out of the truck with our two dogs, you know, and she's, like, well, I'm gonna . . . I'm gonna go to the dog park, you know, get these guys some air, you know, run around and stuff.

Chuck: Which is a half block away.

Dusty: Yes, I mean, it's really . . . the street you cross to get the dog park is really just a dirt track, you know, it's just right up the street.

So I'm a little fed up with the bike. I'm going to go ahead and just put the bike down for a minute and go to the park with my girlfriend and the dogs. As I'm packing my tools away and stuff, a police car pulls up right behind the truck, two officers get out of the car, and asks me, well, what I am doing?

Well, I said I'm fixing my tire, and it's pretty obvious, right? Our two dogs start barking. One of the officers noticed them, immediately pulled his gun out. All right, now, these are puppies. I mean, they're mixed with pit bull, right, they look kind of pit bullish, but they're puppies, right?

nessie: How old are they?

Dusty: Fifteen months and nineteen months. All right? They don't know even what guns are or anything like that, and they're, like, barking and I can see them approaching the officers with the guns.

nessie: Yes.

Dusty: So our main priority now is to get the dogs under control, right? You know, kind of calm 'em down, right, and answer these officers' questions, and then they can leave. Well, during this . . . this is all happening in seconds, mind you, right? You know, Chuck, his friend, Janet and the dog, Tip, are coming out. They don't even know that we're out there.

Chuck: I had no idea the cops were out there.

Dusty: I mean, if anything, they thought I was there, right, working on the bike, but that's it. Well, when they come out, Tip is the first one out of the truck, and, well, he hears dogs barking, and, ah, you can't see the police car from where you come out of the truck.

Chuck: No.

Dusty: It's, like, the way they were parked was . . . like, if this is the truck, the glass is, that's the front of it, they're parked like this, you see, right? And they came out over here, right? All they can see is us, right, and the dogs, and Tip being a curious and intelligent dog . . .

Chuck: And being in a hurry to go on a run with me.

Dusty: Yeah, and, I mean, wants to see what's going on, right? Hey, barking! Are they playing over there or something? Well, he comes around the corner. The cop's already got his gun out, right? We're, like, no, no, no, right, and when Chuck realized what's going on, right, he's, like, no! Tip stops. He's in the process . . . like, that dog, I mean, you know, he minds.

Chuck: He does what I tell him.

Dusty: He minds. He'll do pretty much what anyone says, right, as long as they're like, you know, I mean, he knows commands, and he knows when you're serious or not, and he's in the process of . . .

Chuck: Turning.

Dusty: Turning, really turning, right? I'm really surprised that - 'cause I saw the whole thing from start to finish - I really thought that when they got the autopsy I would have thought it would hit him in the side somewhere, right? You know, maybe . . .

Chuck: No, on an angle.

Dusty: Yeah, 'cause from my perspective he was, like, I mean, like this, you know. He was also on the sidewalk. The officers, like I said, they're parked in the street, right? And they're by the car.

Chuck: They're not even on the sidewalk.

Dusty: They're as far as that man right there is from that paddy wagon, okay? That dog wasn't a threat, right? He just wasn't a threat, okay? So they shoot the dog, okay? That's when he . . . he's, like, you know, he's a mess, right? I mean, you know

nessie: Chuck? Chuck's a mess?

Dusty: Yes, Chuck. Excuse me, Chuck's a mess. I mean, that's his son.

Chuck: I said, why didn't you shoot me, you know?

Dusty: Yeah, he said why didn't you shoot me? Why didn't you shoot me, right? So they immediately subdue him because, I suppose, he was being just too emotional, right, according to them.

nessie: Did he threaten them? Or attack them?

Dusty: No, no!

nessie: Or hit them?

Dusty: No. He was, I mean . . .

nessie: He was crying?

Dusty: He was crying. He was in tears. I mean, we all were, you know. I mean, even if you didn't know the dog, or it could have been anyone's dog. That's, I mean, it's just . . .

Chuck: It's cold.

Dusty: Yes, it's cold. I mean, we just watched somebody kill another person. You know, I mean, dogs are people too, you know, right? You know, so, I mean, we just watched someone get shot for wanting to know what's going on, you know.

Chuck: My dog turned around and looked me at, like, what did I do wrong, you know?

Dusty: Yeah, you know, and, and, so then Janet, like, you know, she's crippled, right, and so she's the last one out of the truck, you know. She didn't see the shooting, right? She heard the shot. She sees them subduing Chuck, and she said, oh my God, you know, it all clicks. And she's in tears, and they're telling her to get down.

Chuck: They wouldn't even let me go near my dog.

Dusty: Yeah, they didn't let Chuck, you know, say goodbye or anything like that, right? Now, ah, we're laying in this ivy full of spiders and stuff, right?

Chuck: yeah.

Dusty: You know, we're on the ground. All I'm worried about right now is both my dogs are there. They don't know what's happening. They have no idea what's happening. I mean, they know that Tip is dead. Like I said, they're puppies, right? That's all they know. They're freaking out, and I'm just holding on my to my dog with all my might. You know, she's a little thing, right, but she's freaked out, right? She's worried about, ah, you know, Tip.

I just . . . they've already shot one dog, you know, and he's not even a pit bull, right? You know, pits got this reputation, so, you know, I'm just holding my dog for dear life. We're yelling at Janet to get down. Just get down. It's too dangerous. Get down, right? Let's just stop for a minute. They rush her. Ah, we're screaming she's got a broken hip. She's got a broken hip, right? They knock her down and drag her up to a paddy wagon, okay? Then they interview me, and they interview my friend Geoff.

Chuck: They've never . . . they have never asked me for a statement.

Dusty: Yeah. We tell them the story, right? We actually wrote . . .written . . . they gave us a form, right? Okay? Ah, ah, then after over two hours of just heavy law enforcement agency, plus Animal Control and the Fire Department, ah, and the whole street from 20 to 22nd shut down for the day, you know, no business, nothing. All business . . .

Chuck: Not even pedestrians.

Dusty: Yes, no pedestrians, no anything, right? They write me a ticket for dogs not on a leash, too, and my dogs actually had their leashes on, right? And I got a ticket anyhow. They give Chuck a ticket for dog not on a leash, and Janet was given a citation a misdemeanor assault on this officer because I suppose they hurt themselves subduing her.

(At this point, Janet herself appeared. She walks with a noticeable limp.)

Janet: Hi, how are you? How are you? Nice to meet you.

nessie: Hi. Nice to meet you too. I wish it were under different circumstances. You’re Janet, right?

Janet: Yes.

nessie: Dusty is telling me what happened.

Dusty: So anyways after all that, they let everybody go. Nobody goes to jail. The Department hoses down where the dog was shot, and they leave. Apparently in the police report, ah, my statement and my friend, Geoff's statements weren't even used, right? And we were the only two people, I mean, to my knowledge that even filled one out.

I mean, I can understand maybe why Geoff's wasn't put in there, right, but I, apparently being the reason the cops responded to the location in the first place was they had a call that somebody was working on a bike, and that's the reason that the police responded to the scene in the first place.

nessie: Because you were working on your bike?

Dusty: Yes, and that's a matter of utmost police priority to ensure that . . .

nessie: Is there a law against working on your bike?

Janet: Not yet. Not that I've heard of.

Dusty: I don't know. I just . . . maybe there was, you know, they were doing a sting or something. I don't know, right? And so apparently the reason for the call in the first place and also seeing the whole incident from start to finish, I'm just wondering why my statement wasn't put in there, you know? You said it wasn't in there, right?

Janet: No, your statement is in there.

Dusty: Oh, was it there?

Janet: Yes.

Dusty: Oh, Terry told me it wasn't.

Janet: Terry? Oh, no. It was in there.

Dusty: Okay, maybe it was. Sorry.

Janet: And Geoff's. Everyone's was, and there's a guy who works at the mechanical engineers next door, and a lady who we see in her car, and a couple of guys who worked across the street at the warehouse.

Dusty: Anyway that's my story.

nessie: Thank you.

Dusty: You're welcome

nessie: Now Janet. That’s you, right?

Janet: Yeah.

nessie: Right. So tell me your version.

Janet: Well, I was inside when I heard a shot.

nessie: You were inside what?

Janet: I was inside the truck.

nessie: Okay. You live in a truck.

Janet: Yes.

nessie: And that's the real problem here.

Janet: Right.

nessie: Okay. I just wanted to be clear about that.

Janet: Yes, we live in a truck. I didn't even know the police were outside. I was the only one left in the truck. Chuck and Tip were going somewhere, so they were already out of the truck. I heard a shot, and I heard Chuck scream, "Oh, my God!" I got up and ran out of the truck, immediately saw Tip on the ground not moving and I started screaming. I went over to him, and I held his face, and I knew he was dead, and I, basically, I mean, I don't really remember too much after that until I was, like, slammed on the ground. I don't remember, like, what I was yelling. I mean, I was charged with assaulting a police and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest but I don't remember hitting him. I remember him hitting me.

Chuck: She never lifted her hands.

Janet: Yeah. I flipped out. I don't remember what I was saying. They have it in their report. I don't even remember.

nessie: I notice you walk with a cane.

Janet: Yes.

nessie: Did you have the cane with you?

Janet: No, I didn't.

nessie: Why do you walk with cane?

Janet: I broke my hip, ah, six months ago, yeah, which, in the report they said that I told them that I had hip replacement surgery two and a half years ago, which is bullsh*t. I mean, I told them I had one six months ago, so . . . but I did not have my cane with me. I was in bare feet. I had shorts on, and I was, like, you know, you could tell . . . I mean, I can't walk without a limp.

Chuck: She didn't know they were out there.

Janet: Yeah, I couldn't walk without a limp or without my cane. I still walk with a limp without it.

nessie: I broke my hip once. I know exactly how you feel.

Janet: Yeah. You know, it's horrible.

nessie: Jane nursed me back to health.

Janet: Yeah. I heard.

nessie: I was a mess. A busted hip sucks.

Janet: Yeah. It's, like, probably the most devastating, like, physical trauma that I've ever had.

nessie: Lucky you.

Janet: It really is. But, ah, yeah, and then I just remember being slammed face down on the sidewalk, and them dragging me to the paddy wagon. I didn't see anything else after that. Ah, they did offer me medical attention. They called the Fire Department, but I refused. At this point I told them . . . they said do you want your cane. I said no. They said do you want us to look at you? And at this point I was, like . . .

nessie: So this was the Fire Department?

Janet: yeah. At this point I'm, like . . .

nessie: Not the cops?

Janet: No.

nessie: Okay.

Janet: At this point I'm, like -- no, you know, they were really -- you know, there was one cop that I think that was nice out of all of them. He was the one who was, like, guarding me in the paddy wagon to make sure I didn't get out.

nessie: What was his name?

Janet: You know what? I don't know. I don't know, and I have to find -- look and find that out. He was a very nice man.

nessie: And the name of the cop that did the deed?

Janet: His name is Sharif Nasir.

nessie: ID?

Janet: Badge -- star no. 1925.

nessie: Do you have a copy of the police report?

Janet: I do. It's at home.

nessie: Okay. What I want you to do is I need a Xerox of it.

Janet: Okay.

nessie: I'll give you a couple of dollars. I'll pay for the Xerox. You give it to Jane. Jane gives it to me.

Janet: Okay.

nessie: And then, we're going to tell the world.

Janet: Good! That's what we need to do. This is definitely so -- like, when the cops have harassed us before, they have so many times, I can't even count, said if you don't get your dog on a leash or make sure he is contained somehow, I'm going to shoot him and kill him. I've heard that so many times.

nessie: This is because you live in a truck. This is because you don't live on Pacific Heights, right?

Janet: Obviously not. It's harassment, you know.

nessie: Okay. I used to live a motor home. I know exactly what you’re talking about.

Janet: It's, like, you know, like Chuck said . . .

nessie: It never happens in my current neighborhood, I tell you.

Janet: No, it wouldn't, and, like Chuck said, it felt like it was a sport kill, and it was, like, it wasn't right. There was nothing right about it, you know, nothing right at all.

nessie: This is dead wrong.

Janet: It is.

nessie: This is dead wrong, and, you know, frankly I don't think we're ever going to be able to right this particular case, but maybe the publicity will make the next cop, next time, think.

Chuck: Can I sue the officer in a civil case for wrongful death?

Janet: Well, I want to try to get a class action lawsuit because I have, like, other friends that have had this. My goal is to change police procedure so the first thing that they do is not shoot a dog. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, that was like my kid. Whether it was just an animal or not, they murdered -- he murdered our dog.

nessie: I agree. I agree 100 percent.

Janet: In cold blood. Just because he's a dog, doesn't mean he's any less important than a child is to us. He’s like our child.

nessie: You can file a suit. You'll lose, but do it anyhow, you know, and I'll come down and cover it. I'll cover the story. You know, all that's going to happen is you have -- you might have to pay $15.00, but I think you can get out of that too. It's just a filing fee.

Chuck: Oh, I don't care.

nessie: I think you can get out of that if you sign a document saying you don't have the money. They'll throw you out of Court, but what the hell? Now as for a class action suit that's something else. You'll need help for that.

Janet: Yeah.

nessie: So you talked to Rocket Dog ?

Janet: Pali Richet. She's a wonderful lady.

nessie: So what did she say?

Janet: She said I have a lot of organizations to start calling, and we're going to both keep on them, and we're going to go from there. We need a lawyer who’s not afraid to take on the police.

They did not identify themselves. See, this is the problem. If we knew the police were outside, the first thing . . . you know, Tip was always on a leash. The first thing I do, you know, and, like, he's got to be on a leash all the time especially when the police are there. That's always important.

Chuck: I know three or four people that the cops have shot and killed their dogs that I know. Now that's not cool.

Janet: Right.

nessie: Are any of them rich?

Chuck: No.

Janet: No.

nessie: That explains it, huh?

Janet: Yeah.

nessie: That it does.