JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – What began as a routine outing for Luna, a 5-year-old pit bull, and her owner, Robert Colasanti, turned into an unexpected event that turned into a physical confrontation with an off-duty animal control officer.
The incident, which happened Friday at a vacant grassy field near Cecil Field Golf Course on Jacksonville’s Westside, caused people to fume on social media.
Colasanti said he and his nephew stopped at the grassy area on their way to the golf course to give Luna some exercise. Colasanti told News4JAX that was a routine stop for Luna, and he had always felt comfortable letting the pit bull walk off-leash because the location was away from the general public and typically devoid of people.
Colasanti said everything was quiet and calm until an unknown woman drove up, parked in the middle of the roadway, and began harassing him and his dog.
“Some random lady just pulls up in her car, gets out of the vehicle, and tells me to ‘put my dog on an f---ing leash,’” Colasanti said.
Colasanti said he didn’t know who the woman was, and that the situation turned even more hostile after she left her car parked in the middle of the roadway, and started walking toward Luna.
“The lady immediately grabs Luna by her collar and lifts her to the point where her hind legs are out in front of her,” Colasanti said. “At this point, Luna is whining and she’s uncomfortable, [and] she’s scared.”
He went on to say that he tried to grab his dog from the woman, but she grabbed his hand, told him she was with Animal Protective Control, and then demanded to see his identification.
“I think that’s a little backward. She should have first shown me some verification of who she was and her title with Animal Care and Protective Services,” said Colasanti.
He and the woman, who was dressed in all black during the altercation, proceeded to get into a tussle over Luna before he was finally able to grab Luna and take her away. At the time, Colasanti says he thought the woman was trying to steal Luna under the guise of being an animal control officer.
“She’s telling me she’s going to call JSO on me. I’m not sure what I did wrong at that moment,” Colasanti said.
After retrieving Luna, Colasanti’s nephew took out his cellphone and started recording the woman as she was following them to his car.
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In the video, the woman is seen wearing an all-black animal control uniform, but her long hair covers the City of Jacksonville symbol on her shirt. Her car was her personal vehicle, not an animal control van, and she appeared to be trying to record Colasanti’s license plate.
“I could not identify anything about her. I didn’t see a badge. I didn’t see anything. All I saw was a lady dressed in black cargo pants, and a black shirt, who was really quick to come over,” Colasanti said, adding the woman left her vehicle in the street, which blocked traffic, making it hard for others to get around.
A screenshot of the video was posted on social media showing a woman dressed in black with long blonde hair. A former Jacksonville Animal Control officer saw the picture and identified the woman as Animal Control Officer Sarah Duren, badge number 305.
Duren is the same animal control officer who attempted to prevent News4JAX from recording video from a public street while animal control officers removed about 130 chihuahuas from bad living conditions.
On Saturday, Colasanti’s wife, Luna’s official owner, showed up at the Animal Care and Protective Services Office to confirm that Duren does work there before calling the police to file a complaint.
News4JAX learned that multiple officers arrived at the animal control office to investigate the matter.
Although Luna appeared fine when News4JAX spoke with Colasanti and his wife, the dog’s neck may have been injured because of the altercation.
“That night following the incident, Luna was constantly hacking,” Colasanti said. “It was 30 seconds of the lady arguing with me while holding my dog the entire time.”
News4JAX crime and safety analyst Tom Hackney, a retired JSO director, weighed in on the incident.
“This seems very far outside the scope of their authority, especially when they’re off-duty, in a personal vehicle, and not identifying themselves,” Hackney said. “It’s a recipe for disaster.”
He continued, “Here is someone who stopped a car in the road, got out, approached, [and] is demanding to take your dog, putting their hands on you...it’s going to be human nature to ask who are you and what are you doing?”
Hackney said an off-duty animal control officer does not have the authority to demand a dog owner show identification, especially if an animal control officer does not first show his or her credentials to prove they are actually an officer.
Animal Control Chief Michael Bricker, Officer Duren’s boss, said that because Officer Duren is a city employee, she cannot speak on camera and explain her side of the story.
Bricker says Duren’s version of events starkly contrasts with the version told by Luna’s owners.
“She saw a dog running up close to the road. She said she beeped for the person’s attention. She said there were two males by a Tesla,” Bricker recounted. “She beeped for their attention, and they didn’t respond or grab the dog. So, as she got closer, she knew there were other cars behind her. So, to stop this dog from running in the road, she stopped her vehicle and got out of the car.”
He continued, “As soon as she got out of the car, the dog ran into the road to her. That’s when she grabbed the dog by the collar. When she grabbed the dog, a gentleman ran up, grabbed her by the wrist, removed her hand, and grabbed the dog by the collar with such force that the collar came off the dog,” Bricker said.
The chief added that it didn’t matter if Luna was close to the road or far away from it because she was still off-leash, which is illegal.
Colasanti admits he was wrong for having Luna off-leash, even though she was off-leash in an area secluded from human foot traffic and nowhere near homes or a public park.
He and Hackney said the situation could have been handled much differently.
“She could have said, ‘I’m letting you know...I‘m currently off duty, but you could be fined for walking your dog off-leash, [and] the dog needs to be on a leash for their protection and other’s protection,’“ Hackney said. ”But when you attempt to physically take the dog and put your hands on the owner, that’s way off base,” he added.
Colasanti’s wife told News4JAX she has contacted an attorney to discuss potentially taking the matter to civil court and said she is making arrangements through her lawyer to speak with the state attorney about filing criminal charges against the officer.
According to Hackney, Duren could still face attempted theft charges because she did not have authority in an off-duty capacity. He also said she and the City of Jacksonville could be liable for any injuries to Luna.
Officer Duren returned to work on Monday.