By Emily Alpert
Gilroy
– A Gilroy couple say their firefighter neighbor has repeatedly
harassed them by phoning in false noise complaints, presenting
himself as a city employee to intimidate neighbors, and possibly
poisoning their dog.
Gilroy – A Gilroy couple say their firefighter neighbor has repeatedly harassed them by phoning in false noise complaints, presenting himself as a city employee to intimidate neighbors, and possibly poisoning their dog.
Frank and Delica Fielding filed a written complaint with the fire department last week, one month after their dog Jake was poisoned and barely survived, saved by more than $3,500 in emergency veterinary care. Veterinarians identified the poison as a tremorgenic toxin, likely snail bait.
The Fieldings have no proof that firefighter Tim Price committed the crime. The only evidence – a 1.5-pound ball of meat, laced with poisonous snail bait – is difficult to trace. But their suspicions mounted when a neighbor, Milford West, told them that another dog died of snail bait poisoning a year ago, following similar barking complaints from Price.
Police are investigating the poisoning, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $20,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.
Price declined to comment.
Chief Dale Foster said he is currently reviewing the Fieldings’ complaint, in cooperation with the city’s human resources department. If Human Resources finds a substantive allegation relating to a person’s city employment, Human Resource Director LeeAnn McPhillips said, the complaint will be pursued. Though McPhillips said she could not speculate on this specific case, Human Resources regulations outline potential penalties ranging from a written reprimand to dismissal.
Frank Fielding originally lodged the complaint Nov. 22, in a phone call to division chief Phil King, who asked him to resubmit it in writing. In his complaint to King, Fielding wrote that Price should be reprimanded and suspended, if not fired.
“Mr. Price has presented himself as a firefighter … in attempt to use this position of power to intimidate my wife and our neighbors,” he wrote.
If so, said King, the complaint falls within the city’s purview. If not, “it could just be a neighbor dispute that we don’t get involved in,” King said.
Since September 2006, Gilroy police have received 15 animal complaint calls directed at the Fieldings’ address, most between the hours of 8 and 11pm, according to crime analyst Phyllis Ward. Three resulted in warnings; one ended in a citation. The rest were resolved on scene or resulted in no report. Police did not specify which calls came from Tim Price.
Neighbors said the Fieldings’ dog hasn’t been noisy, though Price, whose back yard faces the Fieldings, may be better-positioned to hear the animal barking.
“Tim’s always been a good neighbor, and so have the Fieldings,” said Jenny Belcher, a longtime resident. “There’s no one evil in the neighborhood.”
Today, the Fieldings keep their dog inside, except for brief, supervised runs in the backyard. Frank Fielding, a retired Department of Corrections officer, said the noise complaints are one thing, and the poisoning could be another, but by identifying himself as a firefighter, Price crossed a line.
“He’s in a position of public trust,” he said. “But how can we trust someone like that?”
Emily Alpert covers public safety issues for the Dispatch. She can be reached at 847-7158, or at [email protected].
