Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says this case will send a message to the community.
The gift came from a cousin who attended Zack's funeral days after a family pit bull, chained to a pole in their basement, killed the boy on Aug. 16. It has only been recently that King, his wife and three young daughters could handle a return home.
King, 30, said the tragedy made his family stronger, but the news that he is going to be charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the 7-year-old's death brought him to tears.
(How was "the news" delivered? One gets the impression it may have been the newspaper reporters themselves who delivered this "news," but made no mention of it in the article)
"I just lost my only son," he said. "Are they saying I tried to kill him?"
(No, they're saying you were criminally negligent. Even in the throes of grief, let's not make an elaborate pretense of not understanding where the authorities are coming from)
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the pit bull had previously attacked Zach Jr. and two adults, and a "heightened responsibility comes with owning an animal that has vicious tendencies." If he is convicted, sentencing guidelines call for King to be put on probation. He could get up to 10 years in prison, although that's highly unlikely.
Given the possible sentence, Freeman was asked whether he was trying to put the community on notice by charging the father.
"We prosecute a lot of cases when the person isn't necessarily going to prison," Freeman said. "There's no question this case is about sending a message."
(Then Freeman should articulate exactly and precisely what that message is. Is the message "don't have pit bulls?" Or just "don't have pit bulls in North Minneapolis?" Or is it "you can have pit bulls, but you better not neglect them" or even "well, if you neglect your pit bull you better be damn sure it doesn't bite somebody."
With a man's freedom hanging in the balance, I think it would be good to articulate precisely what "the message" is, since it will come at such a high cost.)
Freeman added that not only are fatal dog bites rare, but that prosecuting the owners for felonies in such cases is even more unusual.
In the past three years, however, at least three cases of dogs killing children in the United States have led to manslaughter charges against the parents.
The criminal complaint said that King, "knowing his dog had a vicious propensity, failed to properly confine his dog and such failure caused the death" of his son. Pit bulls and children don't mix, Freeman said.
'A freak accident'
At his home, a distraught King said that Face, the 4-year old pit bull that killed his son, was a family pet he raised from a puppy. He bought the dog for protection because he is frequently out of town on business as a music producer.
(A music producer? I would love to get some specifics about this supposed career of his as a music producer, and the necessary out-of-town travel)
"My son was always playing with the dog," he said. "This was just a freak accident that happened to us."
(No, lighting killing somebody inside a house is a "freak accident." A child getting torn apart by a dog which has bitten many people before--including the child in question--after what appears to be a period of profound neglect, that's shockingly predictable and a sound basis for some kind of criminal manslaughter charge)
The complaint against King said his son died from blood loss and asphyxia from dog bites on his neck. The clamping force also fractured one of Zach's vertebrae.
King told police he had friends over to his house in the 3500 block of Humboldt Avenue N. the night before his son died. Face was chained in the basement because King feared the dog would bite his guests, the complaint said.
King slept in, and his wife went to work, giving all of his children "the run of the house," the complaint said. Several pit bull puppies from a recent litter were in the basement, which relatives speculated was the reason why Zach Jr. went there.
One of King's daughters alerted him that her brother had been attacked. He attempted to help his son, but Face bit his arm. King then got a handgun and killed the dog.
(I thought he bought THE DOG for protection, but here the guy also has a HANDGUN? Well, things almost worked out. Dog for protection from criminals, handgun for protection from the dog)
"I didn't want it to hurt any of my other children," he said.
The dog had bitten two other adults, including one incident involving a contractor working near King's home. The contractor, who had to go to the emergency room, was awarded $22,000 in a lawsuit. King said he asked the owner of the home to let him know when the contractor was coming so he could keep Face locked up.
(This just keeps getting worse. Gee, I have to wonder if King paid the $22,000 to the contractor. Why do I get a feeling the career as a "music producer" didn't produce that kind of money to pay the lawsuit?)
The city's Animal Control unit had talked to King about Face, but King denied that the dog was a threat to his children. Face and a female pit bull named Ginger were allowed to roam freely in the house, he said.
A very careful father
Why did Animal Control allow him to keep Face if the dog was so dangerous? he asked.
(I'd like to hear the facts from the mouth of Animal Control, not the owner of the dog. Maybe King promised to get rid of the dog and didn't. Let's hear from Animal Control. Though, arguably, Animal Control bears some burden of responsibility here, as well)
"I'm not a dog fighter or a dog breeder," King said. "When I now see people walking with pit bulls around my house, I tell them to get rid of the dogs if they have children."
(Not a dog fighter or dog breeder. MUSIC PRODUCER.)
Ginger and six pit bull puppies were removed from his house the day his son died, and he told Animal Control he didn't want them back. King said he's very protective of his children, even to the point of sending them to private school so they can learn in a safe environment.
Zach Jr.'s death was the most recent in a string of dog attacks in Minneapolis in the past year, prompting one state legislator to push for a ban of certain breeds, including pit bulls. State law now doesn't allow the banning of a specific breed.
Task force looks at issue
A dangerous-dog task force in Minneapolis, made up of private and public citizens and city officials, has completed a draft revising the city's dangerous-dog ordinance. Among the proposals, which would have to be approved by the City Council, is increasing insurance for dangerous dogs from $50,000 to $300,000 and more specific requirements for kennelling.
(Am I to believe the "music producer" had $50,000 worth of insurance on the dog in question? And another $50,000 on "Ginger?" And how about those puppies?)
The group would also like to improve licensing efforts and allow police to seize unlicensed dogs. Only 280 pit bulls are licensed in Minneapolis.
(Was the dog in question one of those? Since the article makes clear police--Animal Control?--can't seize unlicensed dogs, the question of whether the dog in question was licensed is not resolved by this article)
Freeman took issue with pit bulls at his Wednesday news conference, but said all dogs, including Henry, his beloved 100-pound golden retriever, need to be handled carefully and with concern for others. Freeman said he doesn't let his dog off the leash when they're out of the house.
The charges against King will likely spark another level of debate about pit bulls. But all King wants to do is "try to get my life together."I'm just putting it in God's hands," he said. "I've already faced the biggest punishment -- losing my son."
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