A man arrested in connection with a shooting that left three D.C. police officers wounded, prompting a nearly 13-hour armed standoff at his residence, was accused of mistreating pit bulls after neighbors complained they smelled urine and feces at his property, according to court documents made public Thursday.
Police said the man surrendered Wednesday night, and he is expected to appear in D.C. Superior Court Thursday afternoon on charges related to the shooting and animal cruelty. The three wounded officers were released from a hospital Thursday morning. One was struck in the calf, another in the ankle, the third in a protective vest, authorities have said.
Authorities initially identified the suspect as Julius James, 46, but later said that was an alias. They said his real name is Stephen Claude Rattigan, 48. He is listed in some court documents as James; in others, both names are used. An attorney listed for him in court documents declined to comment.
The lengthy standoff shut down the residential street in the Marshall Heights neighborhood, forcing schools into lockdowns and then early dismissals. Police said Rattigan surrendered Wednesday night.
Police were seen leading dogs away on leashes Wednesday night. The Humane Rescue Alliance, which investigated the dog complaints that led to the standoff, said they removed 31 dogs — 20 adults and 11 puppies — from the single-family home.
According to the arrest warrant filed by D.C. police on behalf of the rescue alliance, authorities responded to Hanna Place in January after receiving complaints from neighbors. One person told a rescue alliance investigator that dogs were “living in their own waste.” That person also said dogs were frequently let loose off their leashes “and were causing safety issues in the neighborhood,” the warrant says.
Rescue alliance investigators visited the home several times that month, the warrant says, and spoke to Rattigan at least once outside. On one Jan. 12 visit, the warrant says an investigator saw Rattigan in his backyard with 10 dogs, and there were “more heard inside.” The investigator referred to the man as “Mr. James.”
One person living on Hanna Place showed an investigator a video from a security camera that captured an interaction between a dog and a small child that occurred in April. The video shows a dog approach the child and adult “in excited and friendly manner” on a sidewalk next door to Rattigan’s residence, according to the warrant.
The warrant says the adult appears “concerned for the child’s safety” and picks up the youngster. Rattigan then enters the frame and grabs the dog, pulling it away from the child, the warrant says. As the dog cowers, the warrant alleges Rattigan “proceeded to punch the dog in the face six times, causing the dog to yelp each time that it gets hit.”
On Jan. 17, court records show the landlord filed a civil petition in court to either evict Rattigan — identified as Julius James in the document — or have the dogs removed. The landlord alleged in the petition that her tenant’s pit bulls “attacked a 2 year old + her guardian.”
Attempts to reach the landlord on Thursday were not successful.
