Pacifica Police Issuing Leash Law Warnings at Linda Mar

are randomly visiting and issuing warnings and informal citations to dog owners violating leash laws.

Captain Fernando Realyvasquez said the occasional police presence there, on an all-terrain vehicle that has minimal impact on the sand, is primarily for education.

“We are basically trying to educate the community and public about the leash laws on the state beach based on numerous complaints we get from citizens,” he said.

A reader, who wished to remain anonymous due to the controversial nature of leash laws on Pacifica’s beaches, emailed Pacifica Patch two photos and her observations of the incident they depict. 

“I saw the two people in this photo as I came down the trail,” she wrote in the email. “Their dog crapped on the beach – a huge pile. They looked at it, looked at me, and then, left it. Though I do have sympathy for dog owners (because I am one) I have no sympathy for this kind of behavior. They were cited for their dog being off leash. Don’t know if they were cited for not picking up. Even after they citation, they made no attempt to pick up their dog’s feces.” 

The visits to the beach are random for logistical reasons, Captain Realyvasquez said.

“We don’t have any full time resources to send off down onto the beach,” he said. “The citizen sent you those photos probably photographed a couple of our reserve officers who are volunteers, we do random visits on beach with the ATV with the option of issuing warning citation or a verbal warning.” 

Those are not court citations, but warnings, he said. 

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