Downriver woman rescues dog from river, then gets arrested

On a day that could have ended with a 49-year-old Allen Park woman being the hero, it actually concluded with her spending the night in the Wyandotte city jail.

The incident started around 11:30 a.m. Nov. 8 when an 84-year-old woman from Trenton was out walking her dog, which she had just picked up from the groomers. Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton said it's suspected the groomers or the elderly dog owner did not fasten the dog's harness tight enough.

When she went to take her pet for a walk at Bishop Park in Wyandotte, the dog broke free and jumped into the river. Nearby, a 49-year-old woman from Allen Park came to the rescue and jumped into the river in an attempt to save the dog, which she ultimately was successful in doing.

The Wyandotte Fire Department arrived on the scene, lowered a ladder into the water, returned the dog to the elderly woman and then helped the "hero" to climb out of the water too.

"This is when things get atypical," Hamilton said. "The officer right away, just to do his basic report, he asked the woman for her name, if she has any identification, anything like that, just so he can note it down because she did a fantastic job."

The woman refused to give her name to the police and was not cooperative. As the conversation went on, the officer noticed that the woman was highly intoxicated, Hamilton said.

It was later found that this woman had multiple warrants out for her arrest for various misdemeanors and that she was nearly twice the legal limit of intoxication.

"Then she starts accusing the elderly woman of throwing her dog into the river," Hamilton said.

From talking to other witnesses at the scene, there was no corroboration for that accusation.

"They could not find anybody to substantiate her claim," Hamilton said.

Since the Allen Park woman was intoxicated, police officers offered her a ride home, which she refused and continued to act "unruly."

So, the officers arrested the woman for public intoxication.

"We couldn't leave her out there in that state, even though she did a good deed by saving the dog," Hamilton said.

The woman was arrested and stayed in the Wyandotte city jail for 24 hours before being released Nov. 9. Hamilton said that moving forward, he cautions residents from jumping into the river for rescue efforts.

"If anyone comes across a situation like this, our first step (is) to jump in and make the rescue, but refrain from doing that. Call 9-1-1, get the professionals out there and don't jeopardize yourself," he said.