Crime & Safety

LADWP Provides More Info on Utility Box that Killed Dog

LADWP confirmed that the box had been tampered with.

Two days after several neighborhood witnesses reported that a dog was electrocuted and killed after stepping on a charged in-ground electric box at San Pascual Park, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has provided more details about the incident.

A Department of General Services Officer, who declined to be named, also confirmed that the dog was killed.

In an e-mail to Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch, LADWP Spokeswoman Michelle Vargas said the department could not confirmed that the charged electrical box was the cause of the dog's death shortly after 8 a.m. on Monday morning.

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"LADWP cannot confirm that the dog was electrocuted because when our crews arrived on site on Monday, the dog was already off the lid and deceased," Vargas said.

Steve Crouch, who lives near the park, said that a relative of the dog's owner reported feeling a shock when attempting to pull the dog away from the utility box.

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Vargas confirmed that the in-ground utility box had become charged, but she could not confirm rumors that it was caused by would-be copper thieves. 

"Upon arriving at the scene, LADWP found that the lid of the electrical conductor was indeed energized, and the conductors inside were compromised," she said. "Permanent repairs to the damaged conductors were immediately made by LADWP. This may have been an attempt at stealing copper, however, there is no LADWP-installed copper wiring in the park.  Whoever tampered with the wiring may have thought we had copper in there, but that is not the case."

Vargas urged anyone who sees non-LADWP employees tampering with utility boxes to call 911.


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