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Both Rotts were attacking one of the women on Central Avenue when Officer Amanda Thomas arrived shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, Police Chief Joseph Rella said.
“Without regard for her personal safety, Officer Thomas began rendering aid to the woman as the large, menacing dogs circled the scene and attempted to get back to the victim,” the chief said.
Officers Corey Buljeta and Lavrone Green kept the dogs from the victim as Thomas tended to her, Rella said.
The Rotts then turned their attention to a nearby yard.
“The larger of the two dogs began crawling under a privacy fence and managed to lift it enough to gain access to the fenced-in area,” the chief said. “Immediately, you could hear the dog attacking another dog.”
A resident tried to rescue her dog and was attacked herself, he said.
Hearing her screams, Buljeta, Green and Officer Kenneth Knebl came running.
They found the woman on her back being mauled by the Rottweiler, who was “ripping and tearing her arm apart,” Rella said.
“Knebl, without hesitation, fired two rounds from his service weapon from atop a fence in an attempt to neutralize the attacking dog,” the chief said.
Both shots hit the Rott, who let go, ran to the back of the fenced-in area and dropped dead, he said.
Lt. Brian Hippe, Detective Sgt. Robert Distasi and Officer Darcy Rellinger assisted Thomas with the first victim, who suffered severe injuries to her head, arms, legs, and torso, the chief said.
The other officers tended to the second woman, who had puncture wounds on her left arm, he said.
Both victims were hospitalized, Rella said.
Meanwhile, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.
Police then contact the dogs’ owner, who came to headquarters and was issued violations for owning unlicensed dogs and allowing them to run free, the chief said.
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