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Last month, Emma Gilliland’s dachshund Penny relieved herself on a Sellwood-Moreland lawn—and the tenant of the nearby home responded by smearing the dog’s feces through Gilliland’s hair, according to a police report.
Now Gilliland is seeking $245,000 in civil damages from Leon Pluymaekers, who will also face criminal charges of harassment and criminal mischief in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
“It was shocking, it was humiliating,” Gilliland tells WW.
Gilliand sued Pluymaekers on June 10. In her lawsuit, she says she was taking Penny on a walk May 9 when the dog pooped on a parking strip. Gilliland forgot dog bags, so she started to walk to a community bag station when her lawsuit alleges Pluymaekers approached her and smeared the feces onto the back of her head. He then screamed at her and cornered her against a parked truck, she alleges, at which point a neighbor intervened and another called the police.
In the police report, Pluymaekers admitted to losing his temper and smearing the feces onto Gilliland. He claimed he tried to talk to her, but “she smirked at him and turned her headphones up, and kept walking.”
Gilliland said she smiled at Pluymaekers and kept walking to get dog bags. “I didn’t even realize he was chasing me at the time because I was wearing headphones,” Gilliland tells WW.
In the same report, Pluymaekers accused the intervening neighbor of using a homophobic slur. The neighbor, his wife, and Gilliland deny his allegation.
In an interview, Pluymaekers told WW that Gilliland cursed at him twice before he approached her. (Gilliland disputes his claim.)
He said the lawsuit is filled with lies, and he wants to set the facts in order with a countersuit. “I am thinking about going after this person,” he said, “for causing me all the mental anguish and humiliation, et cetera, as well as going after this attorney for putting together a very frivolous lawsuit.”
On May 25, Pluymaekers appeared in criminal court on charges of harassment and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. According to a spokesperson for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office, the police officer who handled the incident cited the defendant to the wrong courtroom, and now has to refer him to the correct room before the district attorney can review the charges.
Gilliand says the incident has left her shaken.
“I moved to Sellwood because of the walkability, because of, ironically, the safety,” says Gilliland. “Now I’m leaning more towards walking with others.”