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Video Shows San Marino Mayor Throwing A Bag Of Dog Poop Into His Neighbor's Yard
The mayor of one of the richest areas in the United States was caught on tape throwing a bag of dog shit into his neighbor’s yard.
San Marino resident Philip Lao said he was about to go on a walk with his wife Saturday evening when he saw a small bag full of dog poop outside his home on Euston Road, according to the Pasadena Star-News. Lao reviewed his home surveillance cameras and says he recognized Dennis Kneier, mayor of the San Gabriel Valley city, as the poop-thrower.
Video shows Kneier holding a briefcase in one hand and flinging the offending bag into the vicinity of Lao’s home with the other. Lao filed a report but isn’t pressing charges, but San Marino police are investigating anyway, saying the bag “appeared to have been intentionally placed in the walkway entrance.”
According to Lao, the mayor was upset with him for placing a “No poop zone” sign outside of his home, as well as for his opposition to a proposed dog park at nearby Lacy Park. Kneier has partially admitted this, saying: “I personally don’t like the sign, but I can’t tell him to take it down.”
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The video shows Kneier’s wife, Liz, walking a few steps ahead of him then saying something to him and pointing to the driveway where Kneier left the bag of poop. But Kneier sent Lao a letter apologizing Monday, framing the story a bit differently by saying he “noticed a bag of dog waste in your west parkway near the lamp post.” He continued:
“Rather than leave it or dispose of it properly, I placed it on your side walkway. This was a mistake, for which I apologize. It won’t happen again.”
Kneier claims he didn’t think about “flicking” the bag, saying: “It was not premeditated. Nobody put a gun to my head and said put it down there.”
Lao isn’t buying Kneier’s explanation, according to KTLA, and says he’ll take his complaints to the regular City Council meeting Wednesday.
“He is compounding the situation by lying about how this occurred,” Lao said.
Just so we’re clear, this happened in what Forbes calls the 63rd most expensive zip code in the country to live in. Apparently even the rich get shit on in some ways.
See the offending video below:
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Update 6/12: Mayor Kneier was cited Wednesday after investigators determined he was responsible for throwing the poop. He could be fined somewhere between $250 and $1,000, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Still, that's not enough for some San Marino residents who showed up at a city council meeting Wednesday and demanded Kneier step down. But here's the best part: those residents are apparently calling the incident "poopgate."
“Maybe you would like to do the gentlemanly thing and step down because many in this town think you are disgrace to this community,” said resident Charlene Johnson during the public comment part of the city council meeting.
Lao said he'll be suing both Kneier and the city. Kneier, of course, does not support a recall over the incident and said the negative attention "hurts a little."
“Everybody is going to have times in their lives that there is going to be stress,” Kneier said.
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