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| www.DogsInTheNews.com |
Volume II - Issue 1 |
July 2001 |
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663 Piles of Poop |
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Monday, July 23, 2001 - USA |
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BOULDER, CO — I guess you could say he was in deep
doo-doo. But after 15 minutes of deliberation, a
County Court jury acquitted 50-year-old Patrick Murphy of misdemeanor
harassment related to his videotaping of pooping pooches.
Mr. Murphy has had a history of some 100 complaints to animal control, letters to editors and meetings with City Council about the dangers of dog excrement seeping into the ground water. In order to help the authorities sniff out and apprehend the criminals leaving these steaming biohazards, the self-appointed vigilante decided to take the law into his own hands—or lens, as the case may be—and use his video equipment to capture and snitch on delinquent dog-handlers in the Casey Middle School area where he lives. He would then drop off the videotaped evidence at the local police department who would in turn send out an animal control officer to issue a citation and fine of $30 to the guilty party. But Mr. Murphy's anti-fecal crusade came to a crescendo last May 10th when one of the subjects of his defecatory documentary decided to file a harassment complaint with the police. Holly Mirabile and her dog, after being videotaped at the Casey baseball field "dropping a grounder", complained to the police about being followed and confronted by Mr. Murphy. Police arrested the man as soon as he arrived at the police station to drop off his latest videotapes, charging him with a violation that carried a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. |
Answering to the charges in court last
Wednesday, Mr. Murphy attempted to explain the nature of his actions,
testifying that he also uses satellite-mapping
technology to trace the locations of poop. In particular, he referred
to a chart that traced 663 mounds of feces at Casey Middle School on one
afternoon in March.
"I'm creative," he said. Jurors said they were convinced that Murphy only wanted the law followed, and didn't intend to break it himself by harassing anyone. Having been released, Mr. Murphy intends to continue his one-man poop squad crusade, perhaps with different methods. Hey, it's a stinky job, but someone's got to do it. §§§
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