The Hawaiian Humane Society released two dogs Wednesday to their owners after the dogs allegedly mauled a homeless man to death in Kalihi.
Suzy Tam, Humane Society spokeswoman, said police authorized the group to release the dogs as long as the owners could safely contain them at home.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 52-year-old Crisencio Aliado and said he was homeless. Aliado died on July 29 of multiple dog bite wounds, the office said. His manner of death was pending further investigation.
The manner of his death can determine whether police open a criminal investigation.
For now, police have opened an unattended death case, said Michelle Yu, Honolulu police spokeswoman.
She said the victim was found unresponsive in the area of Kalihi Stream at about 7 p.m. July 29 and died at the scene. KHON reported the incident happened near Kamehameha Highway.
Tam said police asked the Humane Society to secure the dogs on July 30, and staff performed health checks on the animals. She could not release further information on the animals.
Harold Han, Humane Society field services manager, said police first responded to the scene and are handling the investigation. He said the Humane Society is only assisting and doesn’t have access to evidence.
Speaking generally, he said a dog that has injured a person can be released to the owner as long as the animal can be secured on a property.
He said there are two city laws that apply to a dog biting a person — one for animal nuisance in the case of a minor dog bite and the other for failure to control a dangerous dog, which involves bodily injury. A dangerous dog is defined as a dog that attacks a person or animal without provocation.
An owner convicted in a dog bite incident can be fined $50 for the first offense and up to $1,000 and a sentence of 30 days in jail for a third offense.
A dangerous dog violation is a petty misdemeanor with a mandatory court appearance and is punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and 30 days in jail.
A dog is determined to be dangerous based on the animal’s history, the severity of the injuries, the circumstances of the incident — such as whether the dog was provoked — and other factors, Han said.
Police or the Humane Society can issue citations for a dangerous dog or dog bite incident.
Han said there are several options if an animal is determined to be a dangerous dog. Some options are the owner can surrender the animal for euthanasia, authorities can impound the dog for an investigation, or the animal can be released to the owner as long as it can be secured.
“We want to make sure the safety of the public,” he said. “We want to make sure they (owners) can safely contain that animal. That’s the first option.”
He said the society will do follow-up inspections to check that the dog is safely secured.
He said the Humane Society has not issued a citation in the case. Police did not say whether the dogs’ owners were cited. However, Han said dogs being unleashed on public property is a city violation and that a citation can be issued.
