Police Say K-9 Stopped Attack
A 34-year-old former circus worker from Binghamton assaulted a woman with an elephant hook early Friday morning before being taken down by a police dog named Vago, police said.
Gerald G. Leroy, of 36 Fayette St., was in Broome County jail Friday, charged with attempted aggravated assault on a police officer and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, and second-degree attempted assault and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors.
Leroy has prior felony record, Binghamton Detective Sgt. Arnold Nanni said.
The two officers and Vago were not injured, Nanni said. Leroy was treated for lacerations of the buttocks where the dog grabbed him, but was not hospitalized.
The incident occurred shortly after 4 a.m. Friday when police were alerted to a disturbance. Upon arriving at the Fayette Street address, they found Leroy outside the building brandishing what they initially thought was a club and trying to hit a woman, Nanni said.
Leroy then turned on the officers, who turned the matter over to Vago and his teeth.
When the dog grabbed Leroy by his buttocks, spinning him partially around, an officer noticed the assailant also had a knife in his other hand, Nanni said. The officers were able to place Leroy under arrest after the dog put him on the ground.
The elephant hook was described by police officials as a metal rod with a pointed ax end, a device used to prod elephants into moving. Leroy had previously worked with a circus, Nanni said.
Before police arrived on the scene, Leroy had struck his girlfriend in the stomach with the elephant hook, Nanni said. She suffered minor injuries, he said.
The incident started when the girlfriend attempted to intervene in an argument between Leroy and another woman, Nanni said.
Vago had a brush with fame last year when he broke his leg after jumping from a bridge to the bank of the Chenango River while chasing a suspect. He was honored at a city hall ceremony in October.