Huntington Beach finds itself in crosshairs of possible suit over coyote attack
Good morning. It’s Friday, Sept. 23. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Do you remember the news from last April about the toddler who was bitten by a coyote while she and family members were on the sands just north of the pier at Huntington Beach? It was 9:45 p.m. on a Thursday when the 2-year-old was apparently considered fair game by the animal. Video posted on social media that week showed the coyote attacking the child and knocking her down before scurrying off.
The girl was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to this news release issued that same night by the Huntington Beach Police Department.
There had been two coyotes at the scene, police reported, and one was shot and killed shortly after the attack. The second one, believed to have been the coyote responsible for biting the girl, was found injured the next day under a trailer home near the pier and was euthanized.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife explained at the time authorities had stepped up their coyote trapping efforts as animals were seeking water amid a continuing drought.
The Huntington Beach incident came to mind when I noticed Tuesday the in-depth L.A. Times article by reporter Louis Sahagún “Inside the war against Southern California’s urban coyotes. ‘Horrific’ or misunderstood?” In it, he writes of the many “coyote horror stories” that have made the rounds inside city halls and on social media over the years.
“The reports are fueling an escalating war on Southern California’s urban coyotes, and exposing deep divisions between those who want to eradicate the animal and groups such as Project Coyote that call for peaceful coexistence,” Sahagún writes.
“The widening coyote war is also raising fundamental questions for cities that have long struggled to manage their coyote populations,” he continues. “Those questions include whether local government should be involved at all, and whether such a tenacious and adaptive animal can even be controlled.”
How the two sides of the coyote wars will ever meet a consensus is beyond me. According to Sahagún’s reporting, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates there are 250,000 to 750,000 coyotes living statewide.
I was struck by the findings of one of the experts Sahagún interviewed for his article, Niamh Quinn, UC Cooperative Extension’s human-wildlife interactions adviser.
“Urban coyotes really are different than coyotes in wilderness areas,” Quinn told him. “I doubt an urban coyote would survive very long in the wilds.”
Sahagún notes, “Her postmortem research into the contents stewing in the stomachs of urban coyotes that perished across Los Angeles and Orange counties under myriad circumstances revealed a smorgasbord of samplings: cottontail rabbits, birds, potato bugs, avocados, oranges, peaches, watermelon, cats and an occasional dog. They also tolerate the taste of candy wrappers, fast-food cartons and hiking boots.”
As I was still mulling the coyote situation statewide we received word of a press conference scheduled for yesterday morning in Pasadena. During the event, an attorney representing Bree Anne Lee Thacker, the mother of the 2-year-old who suffered from the April 28 attack, announced she has filed a claim against the city of Huntington Beach . In it she alleges the city’s negligence led to the serious injuries her child suffered. Thacker is prepared to sue Huntington Beach if the claim is denied.
And so, we witness another skirmish in Human vs. Coyote. How will the battle end?
MORE NEWS
— On Thursday, after seven days of deliberating the fate of Dennis Tri Gia Dang, accused of the 2019 Huntington Beach murder of a bookie who was also a close family friend, jurors told Judge Richard King on Thursday that they were unable to reach a consensus. King granted the defense’s subsequent request for a mistrial and set an Oct. 3 hearing to discuss the status of the case. In the meantime, Dang will remain in Orange County Sheriff’s custody in lieu of over $3-million bail.
— An Orange County man, Alexander Tung Cuu Le, 33, of Westminster, has been arrested and charged by federal authorities after a video showed him allegedly punching a flight attendant in the back of the head during a flight Wednesday from Mexico to Los Angeles International Airport, according to prosecutors. Le has been charged with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California said in a news release Thursday. Le could face up to 20 years in prison.
— An Anaheim man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of animal cruelty after a video went viral allegedly showing him kicking and punching his dog in the hallway of an apartment building, authorities said. Albert Abad, 33, turned himself in around 1:30 a.m. and was being held on $15,000 bail in the case that occurred at the Gateway Apartments near Angel Stadium on Sept. 15, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
— The county’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and positivity rates continue to trend down, according to data released Thursday by the Orange County Health Care Agency. As of yesterday 124 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, 21 of whom were in intensive care units. The agency reports a cumulative death toll in O.C. of 7,432 since the beginning of the pandemic.
LIFE & LEISURE
— On Wednesday afternoon, 1,415 students at UC Irvine set the new Guinness world record for the largest game of red light/green light. Students cheered, screaming the university’s official battle chant, “Zot! Zot! Zot!” when the announcement was made and a certificate was handed over to campus spirit commissioners who helped organize the event.
— As part of the Light Up Hope OC campaign under the auspices of the Orange County Healthcare Agency, switches were flipped Tuesday evening to illuminate structures in purple and teal-colored lights at John Wayne Airport, Mission San Juan Capistrano, the Huntington Beach Pier and Knott’s Berry Farm, among other locations. The goal is not only to mark September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month but to also spark conversations that could save lives. They will remain lit through Saturday.
SPORTS
— Raleek Brown started out playing in a youth league in Stockton but his athletic talents left him yearning for greater challenges on the football field. He moved south so he could join the powerhouse team at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. Now he’s a running back for USC and wowing his teammates and coaches there.
CALENDAR THIS
— Now in its fourth year, the Orange Coast Wild & Scenic Film Festival returns this Saturday to the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church with two screenings of 10 short documentary films focused on issues related to nature and environmental activism. Admission is $25 for the in-person screenings and $20 per household for an online-only format. Tickets can be purchased at qudio.com/event/ocuuc-2022/register. The church is located at 2845 Mesa Verde Drive East, Costa Mesa.
— Cruisin’ for a Cure, which takes place Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature 200 vendors and exhibitors, live music, cash prizes, food and activities for children. But beyond all that, the show will also provide free prostate cancer screenings for men over 40. Admission is $17, and kids under 12 are free. Parking costs $10. The fairgrounds are located at 88 Fair Drive, in Costa Mesa. For more, visit cruisinforacure.com
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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