The cops should take a report, civil matter or not, because it is a dangerous animal and a public hazard. In fact, police take reports for all kinds of activity that isn't specifically criminal. Police escort for someone collecting belongings from a house where they were abused, for example. No crime of assault has been committed, but they're present as a preventative measure.
By the way, your standard-issue traffic infraction is, in fact, a civil infraction, not a criminal one (unless you're been VERY naughty).
Of course, doctrine and statute vary between localities. Depending on the particulars in your jurisdiction, the cops may not want to take a report for a number of reasons. There's a very revealing/damning series of reports about precincts in the New York area that pressure beat cops to "show activity" by meeting ticket quotas for particular types of activity while at the same time downgrading reported crimes to something less severe to make their statistics look better.
If you're interested, I can go dig up the link. Maybe it was Village Voice that was running it? It was one of the local papers. A cop recorded everything for over a year. Briefings, meetings, everything. Pretty gutsy move.
~Jade Falcon
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"I could pull a Kit, and start stripping." ~What |
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