KIPS BAY — A man guided his pit bull toward a 6-year-old boy and his father at a busy Kips Bay intersection, standing by and watching as the dog bit the pair and left them bleeding, the NYPD said.
Mister Parrish, 36, was arrested and charged with releasing his 15-month-old pup Boss from a leash and "steering" the dog toward a 41-year-old man and his son at Lexington Avenue and East 28th Street at 10:30 p.m. Dec. 27, police said.
Parrish had been waiting to cross the intersection when he noticed the young boy standing next to him looking frightened of Boss. Parrish told the child, "It's only a dog," police said.
As the father and son began crossing the street, Parrish set the dog loose and encouraged it to go after the pair, police said. He then stood by, watching as the pit bull bit the man's arm and the 6-year-old's leg, leaving them bleeding, police said.
Both victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, a spokesman for the FDNY said.
Parrish returned to his nearby home and was arrested later that night and charged with assault, harassment and failing to restrain his dog, all misdemeanors. He was released and is due back in court on Feb. 18, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
The dog was taken to Animal Care & Control of NYC, where he is being kept for 10 days for rabies observation, according to a spokeswoman for AC&C. The spokeswoman would not say whether the dog would be returned to Parrish after the observation.
Parrish, who's lived in the neighborhood for 13 years, told DNAinfo New York he did not set Boss loose to attack the father and son. Boss squirmed out of his collar when he saw the child, because he got excited, Parrish said.
"He just loves kids," Parrish said of the dog, which he adopted from a Harlem family when the pup was 5 weeks old. "He was running around them and playing, and they thought they were being attacked."
Parrish said he didn't initially intervene because Boss was jumping playfully and has never shown any signs of aggression.
But when Boss bit the father and child, Parrish said he reined in the dog and returned to his apartment, in the hopes of calming Boss down.
He planned to return to the intersection to check on the child after dropping Boss off at home, but as he walked to his apartment a mob of customers from the nearby Curry in a Hurry restaurant began following him, yelling at him and taking pictures of him with their phones, Parrish said.
Parrish was charged with an additional count of assault after police said he punched one of the people who was following him home near Third Avenue and East 28th Street.
Parrish said he didn't lay a finger on anyone but just walked directly home.
Later that evening, police arrived at Parrish's apartment, arrested him and used a tranquilizer to subdue Boss, Parrish said.
"I apologize to the father and son," Parrish said. "It shouldn't have happened. I also wish the police did more of an investigation before they reacted the way they did."
