San Francisco man scales tall fence to escape violent pit bulls in SoMa neighborhood.
Dramatic Survelliance Video
San Francisco, CA - On May 25, a man survived a vicious attack by two pit bulls by scaling a tall fence. Pablo Rocha, who stands at 6'6", told KTVU, "I just remember the noise of my bicep muscle being stretched." In that moment, "I thought I would die," he said. The attack occurred just after 6:00 pm near Alameda and Vermont Streets as Rocha walked home from his gym in SoMa. The attack was captured on surveillance cameras. The dogs repeatedly attacked Rocha prior to him reaching the fence.
When he did make it to safety on the other side of the fence, no one stopped to help him. Police informed him that the majority of 911 callers thought a robbery was in progress, Rocha being the suspect. "The bites of the dogs hurt a lot," Rocha said. "But to know the reason they didn't stop to help me? That was very painful." The city has been riddled with crime and homelessness for years. The dogs belonged to an RV dwelling couple that had been parked under an overpass for months.
The victim's husband, Robert Fountain, has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years. He has witnessed the degradation. "It's been the better part of seven years that we have been fighting to get our neighborhood cleaned up," he said. "It gets cleaned up; it comes back. It gets cleaned up; it comes back." If Rocha "had not been 6'6", 220 pounds, and healthy, I'd be planning a funeral today," he said. We agree. Each time the pit bulls knocked Rocha down, he was able to quickly get back up.
"I had 11 bites and 30 stitches," Rocha said. “Two pit bulls were trying to push me down and kill me." Rocha underwent surgery for two hours.
San Francisco police officers arrested two suspects. Charges against 39-year-old Hilary Flynn include failure to control a dangerous dog, resisting arrest and false impersonation. Flynn also had outstanding warrants outside of the city. Charges against 31-year-old Jesse Ali include resisting arrest and harboring, concealing, or aiding another person when it is known they committed a felony crime. Notably, San Francisco Animal Care and Control is located four blocks from the attack scene.
From 2018 to 2019 we reported on a multi-part documentary series about how San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SFACC) fails to properly manage the risks posed by vicious and dangerous dogs in the city. The third and final installment, in part, focused on the new SFACC facility, which grew to a price tag of over $100 million. From this same documentarist, we've also reported on dangerous dog hearings in the city, including attacks in Chinatown, Sunset District, and the central public library.
If Rocha's attack does result in a Vicious and Dangerous Dog hearing, we wanted our readers to know the case history. The separate criminal charges will complicate matters. Flynn faced a criminal hearing on June 12, and Ali was released on his own recognizance with electronic monitoring. It's unknown if either will fight to save their dogs from certain euthanasia due to the unprovoked, off-property, violent nature of the attack. Certainly, Rocha's testimony, if there is a VDD hearing, will be powerful.
Unusual Optics, Chain of Events
The San Francisco Standard shows the independent surveillance footage. Eduardo Pajeú, who is seen in the video, tries to pull the dogs away, but fails. Pajeú saw Flynn call the dogs away, but she did not leave the RV to help Rocha, he said. Given the unusual optics and chain of events, Rocha said SFPD officers were initially suspicious. "The cops were like, 'How did you get there?' but very aggressively," Rocha said. "And I was like, 'Hey, I was attacked by two fucking pit bulls; what are you asking for?'"
However, an SFPD spokesperson disputed Rocha's characterization after reviewing body camera video from responding officers. "At no point did officers treat the victim as a suspect," the spokesperson said. "The victim was immediately treated by paramedics as officers gathered information about the attack, which they used to quickly track down the dogs. Police and paramedics acted professionally." Officers also arrested Flynn and Ali near the scene, and SFACC took both pit bulls into custody.
Initially, Rocha told KVTU that pit bulls were part of the problem. "I think the city of San Francisco is a beautiful place and we don't need to lose this. Can you imagine that you travel to a city that is so famous, and you can be attacked by a pit bull and be killed by a pit bull from someone that lived on the street?" Rocha then "self-corrected" in the Standard article saying, "The problem is not the pit bull. The problem is the city does not take care of our safety." Truthfully, the problem is both.
The RV dwellers chose to own two pit bulls -- a dog breed that kills more people than all other breeds combined each year in the United States.
Fountain would not have said, "It’s amazing he’s alive," and "If he wasn’t as healthy and tall as he is, he’d be dead," if two hounds had been chasing and biting him. The specific attack manner of a pit bull is exactly how Rocha describes: The smaller dog tried to knock him down, while the larger one "was trying to kill" him. The pit bulls took him to the ground at least three times. These were coordinated efforts among "team players" in a multi-pit bull attack bent on killing, not to "bite and release."
Dogs Euthanized
After publishing this post, we learned that San Francisco Animal Care and Control confirmed that both pit bulls have been euthanized. Presumably, the owners surrendered ownership of the dogs to the city, and SFACC euthanized without a need for a Vicious and Dangerous Dog hearing. This is how many cases involving "vividly clear" vicious dogs should result: dog(s) surrendered and euthanasia. There is no need for the "owner drama" and extensive city resources that VDD hearings often require.
Pablo Rocha seen scaling the 8-foot fence of Aga John Oriental Rugs on May 25, 2024 to escape two attacking pit bulls in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco.
Related articles:
05/28/19: Conflict of Interest: San Francisco Animal Control and Virginia Donohue -- Final Installment
12/06/18: San Francisco Animal Control: Vicious and Dangerous Dogs -- Second Installment
Poor Pablo if he truly a victim.was he walking next to the gate and the pitbull attacked him they pulled him in the gate he got up and trying to look for help and no one help him well that place is ghetto people in the hood doesn’t help anyone whether it men women or a baby or is pablo the robber trying to break in the house trying to steal because everyone and the police think he’s suspect.
We learned after we published that the dogs have been euthanized. There will not be a Vicious and Dangerous Dog hearing.
Good. San Francisco just saved some major tax dollars.
I’m glad the two dogs were euthanized. Quick euthanasia is important since there are many people in our country who would have tried to rescue them.
Terrifying to watch the attack. He’s lucky to be a healthy, fit male. Many others (including myself) likely would not have survived. I hope that he can find healing.
Riiiiiight.
Because your average burglar jumps *into* a yard leaving the two pitbulls *outside* that yard because…the loose pitbulls were guarding the property from the outside?
If the average people in SF are that dumb, it’s no wonder it’s a mess.
At least the city had the sense to euth the pitbulls without messing about.
If that man had been smaller, or the pitbulls went for a senior or child or disabled or even shorter man who couldn’t scale that fence, someone would be dead right now.
Thank God there are TWO less vicious pitbulls in the world. What a compelling story…a story that plays out everyday. These are the ones we don’t see or hear about because of our shoddy laws, a plague of pits and a national media that will not expose the hell these dogs and their idiot owners cause.
You never forget something like this…it is always with you, destroys your own comfort in your own neighborhood, and the trauma is for life. Condolences to both these two men…I feel your emotions.
Have the dog owners been charged?
I hate this mentality that says “You can’t punish me for what my dogs did. They paid for their crime. Leave me out of this.”
If you willingly choose to own a dangerous animal you should be responsible when it attacks.