Couple Airs Anger Over Deputy's Shooting of Dog
Charles Sheriff's Office Cites Self-Defense

By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 20, 2007

Motorists on Route 231 saw an alarming sign Friday afternoon about one mile west of the Patuxent River Bridge.

"Charles County Deputy Murdered Our Dog," it read.

The words had been spray-painted on a large outdoor curtain, which hung off the front bucket of a backhoe. Two similar banners hung from a parked Chevy pickup and from a sign advertising produce.

Two things were very clear about the owners of the dead dog: They didn't like the actions of Deputy Christopher Long on Tuesday afternoon, and they wanted the world to know it.

In addition to hanging the curtains, Joe and Sharon Mattia mailed missives describing the incident to newspapers -- along with photographs showing pools of blood and what appeared to be Max's shot collar -- and talked freely with reporters who called or came by.

"He was a big sissy, really," Sharon Mattia said of the black German shepherd.

That Max was big certainly is not in question. One hundred and twenty-five pounds.

Nor was it really debated why Long had come to the Mattias' house in the first place. He was looking to serve an arrest warrant, related to child support, to John Mattia, 27, one of Joe Mattia's sons.

It is not in question whether the deputy shot the dog. The Mattias say, however, that the officer went overboard and needlessly fired his weapon. The account provided by the Mattias differed widely from the version of events that the Charles County Sheriff's Office says emerged from its initial investigation.

According to the Sheriff's Office, as Long tried to serve the warrant, the dog charged at him and bit him on the leg, puncturing his left thigh. "The deputy had to make a decision to defend himself," said Maj. Joseph C. Montminy, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Long fired his gun several times. Montminy said the Sheriff's Office is sorry the dog was killed. But, he added, "We have to put this in perspective that this whole incident took just a few seconds to take place."

Montminy said the Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the incident. The deputy told the department that Max was not on a leash.

The Mattias say Max was on a leash. No one was home, and Sharon Mattia said Max was always on a leash when no one was home.

Max was shot in the head, jaw and neck, the Mattias said. Shortly after the shots were fired, another of Joe's sons arrived, saw the wounded dog, put him in his truck and raced to the veterinary office in Prince Frederick. Max died en route.

Sharon Mattia said that John Mattia, the subject of the warrant, does not live with her. Authorities said they were following the address listed on the court records. As of Friday evening, the Sheriff's Office hadn't located John Mattia.

Back at their house, the Mattias buried Max near a cedar tree where he and Joe Mattia would hang out in the afternoons. Joe Mattia said it has been hard for him to go walking outside in the days since Max was shot. "He was just like my best friend," he said.

The Mattias said Max was so gentle that they had no problems letting him play with any of the six grandchildren who visited their house, even when they were as young as 1. "We never ever had to worry about him and the grandchildren," Sharon Mattia said.