Assailant stabs man in face, kills dog in Toledo Metropark...and Justice Paul Pfeifer says this never happens

12:10am Thursday, May 01, 2008

"What's the need to be packing in a public park? What's the compelling need?"
- Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer, April 9, 2008

By Chad D. Baus

During oral arguments last month on a case challenging the City of Clyde's ban on concealed carry in its public parks, Republican Paul Pfeifer proved himself dangerously out of touch.

Pfeifer remarked that he just couldn't understand why someone would want to lug a gun around in a park, especially in the summer when it would be harder to conceal. He mocked persons who would chose to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense, evoking an image of a jogger strapping a gun to his jogging shorts. He ignorantly suggested that pedophiles are a greater danger in city parks, drawing laughter when he suggested a bullwhip might be a more appropriate weapon.

Last week, Fernando Gonzalez had just finished a jog with his dog in the Swan Creek Metropark when he was stabbed in the face by a violent, cold-blooded criminal.

From the Toledo Blade:

A man was hurt and his dog was fatally wounded Wednesday night when a man stabbed them in Swan Creek Metropark in the 4300 block of Airport Highway, near Wenz Road, police said.

Toledoan Fernando Gonzalez, 26, whose address was not available, was stabbed in the face. It was unclear whether he sought hospital treatment. The dog died shortly after the incident.

An arrest warrant was issued for Antuane Hamilton, 35, charging him with felonious assault and killing or injuring animals.

About 8:10 p.m., Mr. Gonzalez had just finished jogging with his pet and cousin. About the same time, a man was involved in an altercation with a female, police said.

The man approached Mr. Gonzalez, exchanged words, pulled out a large knife and then stabbed him with it in the face below the left eye, officers said.

The cousin let the dog out of a vehicle and the man with the knife stabbed the dog, police said.

Mr. Gonzales then grabbed a golf club, at which time the man with the knife ran into a wooded area, officers said. Police identified the suspect from the vehicle he left at the scene.

The dog died a short time later, police said.

Despite Justice Pfeifer's ignorant utopian beliefs about Ohio's public parks, this was far from the first time an Ohioan was attempting to enjoy a city park when they were violently attacked. Buckeye Firearms Association has been documenting incidents of two- and four-legged predators preying upon defenseless Ohio park-goers for several years. From rapes, robberies, gang fights and near riots to attacks by coyotes, wild boars and white-tail bucks, the evidence is clear that Ohio parks are filled with far more dangerous threats than Pfeifer's bullwhip-fearing pedophiles.

If you'd like to help make Justice Pfeifer aware of the types of dangers that await Ohioans who don't have the luxury of hiding behind tax-payer funded armed guards and metal detectors, please consider sending him a letter:

Justice Paul Pfeifer
65 South Front Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3431