Charges dropped against man who allegedly threatened dog

Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren has dropped a charge of aggravated menacing against a man who allegedly yelled a death threat at a police dog Wednesday afternoon.

Warren said last week, however, that he hasn't decided whether to now take the case of Mark T. Isaac before a grand jury for possible indictment.

An attorney for Isaac, meanwhile, filed a clearly sarcastic motion in Athens County Municipal Court, in which he argued that if Isaac went on trial, the defense would need to hire a canine "interpreter" to translate the comments of Esko, the police dog that was the alleged victim in the case.

Isaac, a 37-year-old construction worker from West Union, Ohio, was arrested last Wednesday after he allegedly yelled a threat to kill Esko, a police dog attached to the Athens County Sheriff's Office.

Isaac was reportedly working on a renovation project at the People's Bank building on West Washington Street, near the sheriff's office, when the dog and his officer handler exited a cruiser nearby.

According to court documents, Isaac said he made the threat in jest. Nonetheless, deputy John Morris arrested and charged him, under an Ohio law that makes it a fifth-degree felony to threaten any commissioned police officer "“ even if that officer is not human.

In a legal motion fairly drooling with irony, local defense attorney K. Robert Toy argued that to make the charge against Isaac stick, Esko would have to testify that he actually felt threatened. And because human jurors don't generally speak German shepherd, Toy argued, the court would need to approve the hiring of an interpreter.

Tongue rammed firmly in cheek, Toy went on to recommend the services of one "Elbee the Doggie," who supposedly has attended "the University of Barkley" and has "handled many 'ruff' cases before."

The attorney warned, however, that if Elbee were to testify, the courtroom would need to be cleared of all squirrels, as the canine finds them distracting.

Sheriff Pat Kelly has stressed that he considers any threat against a police officer, whether human, dog or horse, to be a serious matter. If a threat made against a police dog is credible, he told The Athens NEWS, the offender should be charged criminally.