NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A dog walker, who fears for her safety, now carries a hammer for protection. This comes after she said a driver followed her on her route.
Bernard is a regular for dog walker Ashley Job.
"Bernard is very protective of me," Job said.
On Monday in the Cleveland Park neighborhood, Job said Bernard abruptly stopped. Then, she saw an older silver Nissan following her.
"I didn’t have the initial fear yet, and at that moment, a woman came running out from this same intersection and started banging on the window telling him to roll it down. She was furious, and she was like 'I’ve seen you do this all morning. You’ve been stalking women. You’ve been catcalling them. You’ve been trying to lure them into your car. You need to stop. I’m going to call the police. I’m going to report your license plate,'" Job said.
Job filed a police report, and posted about it online. She also snapped a photo of the vehicle as the driver left.
Jennifer Howell said something similar happened to her, too. She filed a report after hearing about what happened to Ashley.
"And he kept following me, and then when we got to the corner he literally pulled right in front of me, so I basically had no choice but to walk into his vehicle, when that happened I took the opportunity to run across the street and I ran between two houses, and I did hide behind an air conditioning unit," Howell said, "And watching him go around the block circling like he was looking for me... it was terrifying."
Police said the driver, who they have identified, is not acting illegally. They would need repeated reported incidents to make an arrest, so more women would have to come forward. A police spokesperson said the driver apologized, and they increased patrols, too.
"For somebody to actually be physically violated in some way before somebody can act, knowing that there’s some behaviors that lead up to that, it’s really quite terrifying," Howell said.
For now, Job is armed with a hammer and other personal protection while she does her job. Bernard is looking out for her, too.
"He’s a good boy, extra cuddly," Job said.
Metro's Family Safety Center helps stalking and domestic violence victims. They advise walkers and runners to have a phone handy, call police if they're scared, keep a log of incidents, walk in groups and change routes frequently.
