Woman arrested over unleashed dogs in NYC park

Woman handcuffed after walking dogs with no leash

Walking the dog in the park turned into quite an ordeal for a woman on the Upper West Side, when she ended up handcuffed and taken into police custody because she had no leashes on her dogs.

NEW YORK - A New York City woman was handcuffed and arrested over her unleashed dogs in a city park.

Dora Marchand, 29, was detained while walking her two dogs, Comet and Sophie, in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side. Dogs are required to be leashed.

The West Side Rag reports that it happened shortly after noon on Aug. 4th.

She says she was detained by Parks Enforcement Patrol officers and taken to an NYPD police precinct and put into a holding cell.

Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app! | Sign up for FOX 5 email newsletters

Marchand, who recently located to New York City from San Francisco, told the Rag that she didn't have her ID and couldn't remember the exact address of the nearby building she just moved into.

She claims she offered to walk them to the building to get her ID but they refused and detained her.

The parks department reportedly said that she "became confrontational and did not cooperate when asked for identification information" as the reason they handcuffed her.

A witness who took video of the arrest disputed that Marchand did not cooperate.

The NYPD put her into a cell when the Park Department police brought her to the police precinct as required by their protocol. The NYPD told FOX 5 News that all people who are brought in have their shoes checked for possible drugs, razor blades, etc. and they have the strings taken away from all clothing to prevent someone from attempting to commit suicide or injure other people in the cell.

Marchand was eventually released from custody with a $200 fine for not complying with officers and a $100 fine for the dogs being off-leash.

In a statement to FOX 5 News, the parks department says that handcuffs are standard when they transport anyone to the precinct in a shared vehicle. The department also claims that she has not been compliant with officers after warning in the past.

"I feel like there’s other things to worry about," Marchand told the NY Post.

Her dogs were put in a carrier and picked up by a family member after her arrest.