File incomplete in first dog bite court case

ST ANN’S BAY, St Ann— Carlington Reid, the first person charged under the Dogs (Liability for Attacks) Act 2020, will return to court on November 2 to answer charges of criminal negligence.

An incomplete medical report for the victim, 61-year-old Bavette WatsonBalfour, and a yet-to-be-received statement from the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, to Animals which seized the dogs after the attack, meant the case could not proceed after being called up in the St Ann Parish Court yesterday.

The matter was adjourned until the next mention date.

Reid is the alleged owner of two pit bulls that mauled Watson-balfour, leaving her with multiple injuries. Under the Act, anyone injured by another’s dog while in a public space has up to six years to file a civil claim. Dog owners can also be charged with a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to $500,000 or six months’ imprisonment.

Watson-balfour, who is still nursing wounds, was attacked on the morning on June 12 while heading to work along a roadway. She was bitten all over her body until co-workers heard her cries and rescued her from the vicious animals.

Both Reid and Watson-balfour are from Eltham, Ocho Rios.

Over the years there have been several cases of attacks by dogs, sparking public outrage and calls for dog owners to be held accountable when, because of their negligence, their animals hurt others. The 2020 Act replaced the Dogs (Liabilities for Injuries By) Act of 1877 which was criticised for not having enough teeth.

The clamour for harsher penalties intensified after five-year-old Mickele Allen from St D’acre in St Ann was mauled by dogs last November. And in yet another recent case in St Ann, on June 22, a 15-month-old girl was left hospitalised after being attacked by dogs that frequent the yard in which she lives in Brown’s Town.