Portland police Monday arrested a dog owner they say ordered his pit bull to attack two people — injuring a total of three people — in what has been charged as a hate crime.
Zachary Tyler Hay, 29, pleaded not guilty to the allegations against him during his arraignment in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday, a day after one of the victims spotted him in downtown Portland and police responded to arrest him.
The attack unfolded May 12 in the 1300 block of Southwest Alder Street, about five blocks northwest of Providence Park, according to police. The Black victim heard a commotion and ran toward it to find Hay commanding his dog to attack a white teenager, who was repeatedly bitten, police said. As the Black victim tried to intervene, Hay recognized him as a security guard at a downtown grocery store. Hay then uttered a racist slur and sicced his dog on him, police said.
The Black man suffered “severe bites to his chest and his right hand, which partially de-gloved his right thumb,” according to papers filed by the prosecution.
A third victim, another white man, also tried to stop the dog from attacking the Black man, police said. He was bitten in the groin.
Police said Hay fled. And once arrested, Hay told police his dog became unleashed during the encounter with the men and that the dog attacked because the men were acting aggressively.
Police don’t know the identity of the first man who was allegedly mauled by the dog and are asking him to contact them. They also are asking anyone else with information about the incident to contact Detective Matthew Brown at matthew.brown@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 24-116932.
Hay appeared in court Tuesday to hear the charges against him:, including two counts of second-degree assault with “a dangerous weapon,” which prosecutors defined as the dog. Hay also is charged with first-degree bias crime and three counts of maintaining a dangerous dog. Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai ordered him held in jail until another judge can assess whether he should be released pending trial.
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