|
Home
Donate
Gift Sponsorships
Volunteer
Employment
Tours
Wish List
Events
Gift Shop
Internships
Pasado's Story
Pasado Newsletter
| |
 |
NEW UPDATES ON THE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
Pasado's Safe Haven is funding the hiring of a private
investigator to find two key witnesses to the school shootings. We are
honored and pleased to be able to continue to support this case. We hope
with this P.I. on board, two individuals, one of which is an air
national guardsman who was an eye-witness to the shootings, will be
located. Stay tuned to this website for updates.
St. Bernard School Massacre...
It may be two + years, but no time will erase the horror
Nearly everyday your e-mails remind us of the
investigation your dollars launched to find justice for the animals who
suffered at the hands of cowards. YOU donated to fund a $25,000 reward
to find the perpetrators of this crime. YOU funded the staff, travel,
and investigation time. And one lovely woman from Texas paid for every
dime of the $7700 that paid for necropsies that gave the Louisiana State
Attorney General's Office the start it needed.
But it has also been your voices, which you have raised loud and clear,
that has kept this case alive. Our deepest thanks to you, and to Mimi
Hunley and Emma Emma J. DeVillier of the Louisiana AG's Office for their
vigilance. Without them, and you, these animals would have been
forgotten.
Please post this page to all blogs,
chatrooms, and websites to keep this case alive. We need you!
|
Dear Pasado's Safe Haven...
My name is Bob Giroir, managing editor of The St. Bernard News in
Louisiana, and I would like you to know - if you don't already - that we
are proud to have made use of your website and the information available
through your organization to cover the indictments and trial dates of
the accused pet murdering deputies.
As far as I could tell, our local and regional newspapers (the big boys)
gave no coverage at all about the indictments being handed down. And
Kudos to you all for getting the Attorney General to do his job.
I am not a vegetarian, just an animal lover who is quite pleased to be
part of the process of publicizing animal cruelty whenever possible.
Thank you all for your efforts.
Bob
|
St. Bernard Animal
Massacre - Pasado's Safe Haven Investigates
The civil case, launched on behalf of the pet owners by Pasado's Safe
Haven against the St. Bernard Sheriff and deputies, has been fueled by national
media attention. |
|
Pasado's Safe Haven's Investigation featured on:
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
In Memory of Angel & Bullet
|
|
Above, Angel and
Bullet, two of the dogs shot and left to die in the schools. They
were loved pets. And were treated like garbage. They did not die quickly
and we need to seek justice for them.
Please help us - and them
in their memory. |
|
HISTORY OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS :
In the aftermath of Katrina, St. Bernard Sheriff's Officers (according
to witnesses) allegedly mercilessly shot and killed 33 dogs (and cats) -
all pets - as hurricane victims were loaded on to boats for evacuation.
They were shot in the body cavity, arms, neck, and hindquarters (not in
the head) causing extreme prolonged suffering. The hurricane victims
left their animals in the care of St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Officers
at four schools in St. Bernard Parish (where a temporary evacuation site
was established). As they were evacuated, they believed their beloved
pets would be treated well. Instead, they were all massacred.
|
|
 |
Download and post Pasado's reward
poster if you're in the New Orleans area. The more people who know about
the reward, the better chance of catching the cowards! |
|
|
As part of the
investigation, our cruelty investigator videotaped all of the animals, as they were left to
die.
The schools were a temporary shelter for evacuees who, after flood
waters rose, were ordered not to take their pets with them.
According to him, "The dogs who were shot in St. Bernard Parish did
not die immediately. They were not shot in the head to quickly bring
about death. Shooting an animal in the body cavity is one of the most
cruel ways to kill an animal."
(Pasado's animal cruelty
investigator documents the horror. Animals blurred in all
photos.)
|
|
|
Left, we collected .22 and
shotgun shell casings for examination by forensics specialists. All
animals had been shot to death.
|
|
|
Left, one dog, looked to be attempting to run
from the shooter.
|
|
|
Many of the pet owners
scrawled their names and phone numbers on the wall of the middle school
room, in an effort to have their pets reunited with them. All of the
fourteen dogs were found shot, lying in pools of blood. These evacuees
lost everything. To find out that the pets they tried to save were
killed in this manner is the final blow.
Left, one pet owners
states "Grey dog pregnant is Suzy".
She was shot, as well. |
|
|
This sign may have
portended what was to come. "Please do not shoot her. Please find her a
good home." was their plea. |
|
Please help us pay the bills that have mounted in seeking justice for
the dogs who have died. Make a
donation
to Pasado's Safe Haven - one of only a few 4-Star animal charities in
the entire U.S. |
|
 |
$25,000 REWARD
OFFERED BY PASADO'S SAFE HAVEN
John Bozes, left, shows a photo of his
niece and Angel Girl, his beloved black lab who was tied up and murdered
at St. Bernard Middle School. According to John, "When Pasado's called me, we were so grateful. My dog was murdered
and I can't sleep thinking about what happened to her. When I met the
folks from Pasado's,
I was so impressed. He expressed sympathy, but he vowed to do everything
he could do find the killer. I can't believe there is such good in
people."
It is because of
hurricane victims, like John, who lost their pets in this massacre, that
Pasado's Safe Haven offered a reward. We started with $10,000 from our
bank account. And it soon grew to $25,000 - with the help of people
donating worldwide.
It was and is our hope
that someone will come forward with a tip that will lead to an arrest,
prosecution, and conviction. |
|
 |
|
We hoped the killer(s) of the cats and dogs in St. Bernard Parish was
watching when PasadoRescuers had an opportunity to spread the word of
the $25,000 reward by handing out flyers at a St. Bernard Parish
community meeting, above. Thousands of people attended.
|
|
Nothing can bring back these animals, but hopefully, with the help of
all of you who write and e-mail, the donations from people like Sandra
S., from Dallas, Texas who paid our bill for the necropsies (all $7700,
and the passion of people like David Leeson, who wanted to find "oily
dog" (and finally did), and those at the AG's office, for vigilantly
pursuing these cases, we will find justice. It may be a
bittersweet ending, but we can say we did our best. And those above, who
are no longer suffering, will know how hard we tried. |
Updates since the investigation began: (dated from oldest to most
recent) |
|
|
October, 2005
St. Bernard Sheriff's Officer Mike Minton is videotaped shooting dogs to
death in St. Bernard Parish (in a nearby neighborhood) |
|
October, 2005
Pasado's begins interviewing refugees from the schools. Below are some of those
statements he turns over to the Louisiana State Attorney's Office: |
• Arlene & Eddie L.
(refugees at Beauregard) can id officers (per Caryn M. - WI cop; husband
is, too; into Beauregard early with Susen, a Danish journalist)
• Christopher A. & his girlfriend, Crystal (refugees at Beauregard) saw
30-40 dead dogs in Beauregard mid-September; lost 2 dogs there.
• John Bozes (refugee at Beauregard) Owner of "Angel Girl" found on 2nd
floor SW corner (LSU necropsy id 05N584); John overheard deputies make
comments about using the dogs for "target practice"
• Robert (Gene) & Carol H. (refugees at Beauregard – Carol is related to
John Bozes); Husky mix "Bullet" is their dog killed in school – LSU
necropsy ID 05N586
• Clay & Jodie J. (refugees at St. B HS) owners of 3 cats & 1 dog; left
message on chalkboard; notes on cat carriers (2 of their 3 cats were the
dead ones in the carriers that I recovered – LSU id 05N598 & 05N599)
• Judy M. (refugee at St. B HS) owner of white poodle found dead (Gigi)
that Pasado's recovered – LSU id 05N607; When she was evacuated, she was
threatened with handcuffing if she didn't relinquish her dog. She had a
crate. The dog weighed 10#
• Nicole W.(refugee at St. B HS) heard deputy say they were going to
shoot dogs; can identify if shown photos
• Frank & Vivian A. (refugees at Sebastien Roy School) owned 5 dogs
shot; careful about talking; I found this post on a chat board:
"Please Help please call Frank. The day of hurricane Katrina, 6 dogs
were put into Sebastien Roy School on Bayou Rd. in St. Bernard Parish.
This was the only safe place to put the dogs. These were full bred pit
bulls, well trained, my brother has bred them for fifteen years. Poncho,
the head male was eight years old and superbly trained. Cheyenne was
pregnant and near the birth. The others were three females, three years,
five months, and seven months and a male who was five months. Yesterday
my brother was able to enter the parish and go see for his dogs. This is
what he found: The head male and and the three females were shot dead,
shell casings litter the area. They appear to have been dead for at
least two weeks. The young male, a five month puppy, was locked in a
room and found dead. This dog was left to starve, which he did. The
mother had given birth to three puppies, all were found locked in a
stairwell with no water or food. The puppies were well, but the mother
was near death, never has he seen a dog as skinny as she was. My brother
is furious at the murder of his animals. He was told by a first hand
witness that the St. Bernard Sheriff dept. did the shooting. This was
not necessary. We can understand that the head male might have to be put
down because he would defend his family, but the others were puppies,
they would not hurt anyone. Please call Frank. Please help." |
|
 |
Oct-Dec, 2005
The Louisiana State
Attorney General's Office begins interviewing
witnesses and submits a request for a photo line-up from St. Bernard
Sheriff Jack Stephens, left.
Oct-Feb, 2006
Pasado's collects statements from witnesses who left their pets at
the St. Bernard Schools.
April, 2006
Months pass and the AG's
office does not acquire a photo line-up. To date it is still unclear why
they have been unable to do so
April, 2006 Pasado's Safe Haven files a request for public records
seeking photos of all 300 + St. Bernard Parish Deputy Sheriffs, from the
St. Bernard Sheriff, Jack Stephens. We use a state law
that is similar to the Federal Freedom of Information Act, to allow us
to secure the records and photos. |
April-present, 2006
Pasado's
initiates a nationwide campaign to write to the St. Bernard Sheriff to
request a photo line-up of officers who served on the day the pets were
shot. We estimate that at least 20,000 e-mails have been sent from
around the world to the Sheriff.
June, 2006
The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s office denies Pasado's repeated requests
for photos of the Sheriff Deputies on duty during the St. Bernard
dog-shooting incident claiming that it falls under the category of
personnel records and therefore the information is protected. Other options include asking the United
States Attorney General Office (federal office) to look into the wisdom
of having the Louisiana State Attorney General investigate this
potential police misconduct case. Should a special prosecutor be
assigned? Or, were the civil rights of the pet owners violated? If
police killed their animals, does this constitute the taking of property
(what animals/pets are considered under the law) under the 4th
amendment? We’ll be submit these queries to the United States Department
of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. We begin seeking independent counsel
(an attorney) in New Orleans to represent the case.March, 2006
A witness comes
forward.
Although we cannot divulge our source, we believe we may
now know who "the shooter" was in the Beauregard Middle School massacre.
A very reliable source names a specific person.
August, 2006
Eileen
Comiskey, an attorney in New Orleans, has agreed to take on the case as a civil
action, listing Pasado's Safe Haven and six victims as plaintiffs.
September, 2006
They say the wheels of
justice turn slowly but those of who remember the travesty carried out
in the St. Bernard Schools applied a large dose of elbow grease this
week. It came in the form of hundreds of hours of tracking down New
Orleans diasporas, taking hours of hand written and recorded testimony
from anyone who is willing to come forward and help the case, chasing
down reference documents and publications, preparing court filing forms,
making phone calls, sending emails, and raising funds to help defray the
considerable costs to bring this case to
Most of the leg work has been done by dedicated volunteers who remember
the grisly scene of a year ago. This image has fueled their
determination to bring the culprits to justice. Up to now, attorneys
have been contributing pro bono hours but going forward we’ll need to
raise enough money to keep the momentum going.
At this time we don’t want to publish too much about the case as all the
information we’ve gathered is highly sensitive and the success of the
case will depend everyone’s professionalism and confidentiality. We can
tell you this much. If the events of the last few weeks are any
indication, we feel confident that the case will be heard in court and
that those responsible for taking the lives of the companions to the St.
Bernard flood victims should concerned. Very concerned.
Please keep checking back to get the latest updates and please continue
to cross post this link. We have a very strong case but we want justice
for as many families as possible so their testimony is important.
October, 2006:
Civil case filed in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. |
|
Please help us pay the bills that have mounted in seeking justice for
the dogs who have died. Make a
donation
to Pasado's Safe Haven - one of only a few 4-Star animal charities in
the entire U.S. |
What you can do to
help...
Pass on this page link to as many people as you can. We need to
keep this story alive.
If you have a source in national media or media in New Orleans,
send them this story and ask them to cover it.
At one time, we asked everyone to write to the Attorney General. We do
not feel that flooding their inboxes with e-mails will help at this
time. But that may change. Please keep an eye on our website for
updates.
Purchase
our PasadoRescue Katrina DVD or a
"Not
Without My Pets" t-shirt - those purchases help us continue
working on this critical case. Or just
make a
donation. Together, we'll find who committed this horrible act
of cruelty - they should never be able to get away with this!
|
 |
|
