Jan 8, 2008 7:20 pm US/Pacific
SF Police To Hold Tiger Victims' Cell Phones, Car
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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Paul Dhaliwal, foreground, walks in front of Kulbir Dhaliwal as they arrive at the funeral for Carlos Sousa Jr. in San Jose Tuesday.
CBS
A court commissioner has issued an emergency order for the police to hold the cell phones and a car belonging to the two brothers who survived a Christmas Day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo.
The order addresses a letter sent by the city attorney's office to the lawyer for Kulbir and Paul Dhaliwal last Friday, asking him to make sure to preserve any photographs or call logs that were on the phones before the Dec. 25 maulings.
The order says police will hold the items until the court determines whether the city attorney's office is allowed to inspect them.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Friday asked attorney Mark Geragos, the attorney for brothers Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal, to allow simultaneous inspections by experts for the city and for the brothers of the young men's car and possible images in their cell phones.
But Geragos fired back on Monday with a request for immediate release of the phones and car along with information about zoo workers who may have interacted with the brothers after the tiger escaped its grotto.
Herrera then wrote back asking for a "clear written response" to the inspection request by Monday night, but Dorsey said Tuesday there have been no new developments in the exchange of requests.
The 350-pound Siberian tiger, Tatiana, killed Carlos Sousa, 17, of San Jose, and injured Paul Dhaliwal, 19, and Kulbir Dhaliwal, 23, also of San Jose. The tiger was fatally shot by police at the zoo cafe, where it had followed the two brothers.
Herrera said in the letter to Geragos last week that the "digital content" of the cell phone "may help reconstruct what happened at the tiger exhibit and cafe."
Herrera also wrote, "There have also been reports that there is evidence in your clients' car of possible alcohol consumption."
Geragos said in Monday's response that he had been told by San Francisco police that the department currently has no legal authority to continue holding the phones and car.
The attorney charged that the zoo and the city are legally liable for "the fact that (the zoo) let a deadly animal get out of its cage and attack zoo patrons."
A hearing has been scheduled for Friday in San Francisco Superior Court. A call to attorney Mark Geragos on Tuesday was not immediately returned.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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