TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Police Radio Logs Capture Chaos At Zoo

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 30, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO - Police radio transcripts from the night of a deadly tiger attack revealed a chaotic scene at the San Francisco Zoo as zookeepers struggled to sedate the animal and medics refused to enter until they knew they would be safe.
Zoo employees also initially questioned whether early reports of the Christmas Day attack were coming from a mentally unstable person, according to an 18-page log of communications from police dispatchers to officers and emergency responders at the scene.

The first report about the attack came in at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday.

On Saturday, Sgt. Neville Gittens, a police spokesman, declined to comment beyond the transcript released late Friday. Authorities have never indicated that their response was hindered by any delays, and police Chief Heather Fong has praised officers for their quick action and collaborative work with the zoo staff.
Zoo officials could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The attacks killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. and seriously hurt two of his friends. Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23, were released from a hospital Saturday.

The Associated Press

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT