Off-Leash Dog Argument Leads To Assault Of Ridgefield Woman: Police

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Police have charged a Westchester County woman with assault after they say her argument with a Ridgefield woman over an off-leash dog turned violent.

The Westchester County Police Department says that at 12:17 p.m. on Sunday, they received a 911 call from a Ridgefield woman in her 50s, who said that she had been assaulted at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY during an argument with two people over an unleashed dog.

The woman told officers that she had been walking on a trail when an unleashed dog ran up behind her. After she told the owners of the dog that it needed to be on a leash, an argument reportedly took place, eventually turning physical.

After investigating, WCPD patrol officers charged 57-year-old Dawn Reich, of New Rochelle, NY, with third-degree assault for striking the other woman in the head, causing a laceration and knocking her down.

66-year-old Steven Reich, also of New Rochelle and Dawn Reich's husband, was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for breaking the woman's cell phone by smashing it against a rock.

The Ridgefield woman was initially helped by two other park visitors, who found her bleeding from her head on the Brown Trail, and gave her a phone to call 911 with.

She was treated at the scene by the Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was then taken to the Northern Westchester Hospital Center.

Dawn and Steven Reich were booked at Westchester County Police Headquarters and released on desk appearance tickets. The couple has been ordered to report to the Pound Ridge Town Court on Nov. 20.

with reporting by Patch editor Jeff Edwards