DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire student bitten by a state police dog during a World Series celebration filed a complaint with Durham police on Dec. 30.
Alex Klotz was bitten while officers from several departments dispersed thousands of people from Main Street after the Red Sox won the World Series. He cited a busy school schedule for not having filed the complaint earlier.
In a phone interview Sunday, Klotz said he is simply looking for an apology from the officer, Mark Hall, who was not wearing name identification required by state law and allegedly refused to give his name to Klotz after the incident. It is not known what happens to the complaint next, as Durham police did not return repeated phone calls between yesterday and this morning to comment on where the complaint will be routed or even if it will be acted on.
When asked about whether he plans on taking legal action, Klotz said "It depends, but probably not."
Klotz was walking at the back of a large crowd of students, as police herded them down Main Street around midnight Oct. 28. He said a police dog initially bit him in the buttocks as he was walking with the crowd.
When he turned to speak with the officer, asking the handler to control his dog. The dog then bit him again, on the leg, and it was captured in a series of photos by Foster’s photographer Aaron Rohde.
Klotz said he asked for the officer’s name and the officer, who had no name tag visible, refused to identify himself.
In a phone interview on Dec. 23, Simon Brown of the state Attorney General’s Office said the question of Hall’s name tag had not been referred to them and it is not a potential criminal investigation.
Rohde also asked for the officer’s name and said the officer refused to give it. Rohde was arrested for disorderly conduct and has since also been charged with interfering with a police dog. He faces up to a year in prison for each charge if convicted. His court date is Feb. 3 in Durham District Court.
In a statement related to that case, Hall said he initially didn’t know his dog bit Klotz and instead said his dog bit Rohde.
"At this point I believe K-9 "KAI" apprehended him in the upper leg area," the statement said. "The male subject was later identified as Aaron Rohde."
But the statement shifts halfway through, with Hall noting that after the incident he was "made aware of a photograph published in the Foster’s Daily Democrat Newspaper," which is when he says he recognized Klotz.
"I do remember Kolz (the statement misspells Klotz’s name) turning towards us and saying something. At this point we were in close proximity to Kolz and others. Kolz did stop moving at one point when he turned. I do remember K-9 KAI apprehending (his) right pant leg near his thigh."
The statement says, "at no time did Kolz ask me for my name or indicate he wanted to make a complaint."
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