Crime & Safety

UPDATED: "Terrier-able" Behavior: Dog Owner Attacks Woman in Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park

Zone 6 investigators have arrested the man in the video for assault.

UPDATED: After a long night of numerous leads and tips, information led Atlanta Police Department Zone 6 Officer R. Ramirez and Investigator T. Dennis to identify and arrest Louis Rivera as the man in the video attacking a woman in the park.  According to Sgt. Lyon, "Louis Rivera was arrested for simple battery." He was taken in custody on Feb. 22.

Original Post:

OLD FOURTH WARD —  The video speaks for itself.

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Atlanta police are looking for a dog owner who went ballistic on a woman in the Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park striking her at one point — all because he felt his two pit bulls had first rights to play in the park since they were there first.

The victim, who was watching five chidren as they played in the park, pulled out her mobile phone and began taking video of the suspect, when he became loud and aggressive.

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He came at at her and the video clip shows the suspect yelling at her and with his two pit bull terriers in hand, slaps the phone out of her hand.

It was slapped so hard that it seems to spin in the air for five seconds before falling to the ground.

According to a police report, the "male approached two of the girls in the group and told them that they needed to find somewhere else to play because his two unleashed dogs were there first."

The woman, obviously unhappy with the man's tone and bullying, then pulled out her phone to record him as he walked away. 

As you can see in the video, man did not walk away, and is now wanted for questioning by the police.

Investigators are asking for assistance in identifying the male seen in the video.

Police say that the man is known to frequent both the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park area and the Piedmont Park dog park.  "He has a tattoo on his left hand on the fleshy part between thumb and second finger and two pit bulls with choke collars," informs the APD YouTube channel.

The claim by the suspect that he and his dogs were there first and were allowed to roam leash free, is false. City codes requires that dogs be kept on-leash in any park unless there's a specific area cordoned off for dogs.

Anyone with information on this male is asked to contact Zone 6 investigators at 404-373-5331 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.


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