A California mayor was caught on camera throwing dog poop on a resident's lawn, sparking an uproar in town. INSIDE EDITION caught up with the mayor and the neighbor.
Is this the worst case of dirty politics ever? It's a city mayor throwing a bag of dog poop onto a neighbor's property. Now, the incident is causing a big stink.
At a city meeting, one resident told the mayor, "Many in this town think you're a disgrace to the community."
A home security camera caught everything. The mayor and his wife pass the neighbor's house, and there went the bag of poop out of the mayor's hand as he tossed it on the lawn. And it's not just any neighbor! The homeowner happens to oppose several of the mayor's policies.
Dennis Kneier is the mayor of San Marino outside Los Angeles. He told INSIDE EDITION's Jim Moret he saw the bag of poop lying discarded on the sidewalk and, like a good citizen, he picked it up intending to dispose of it properly. For some reason, he says, he tossed it onto the other guy's property. He denies his wife had anything to do with it even though she appears to point to the property in the video.
Moret asked Kneier, "What happened? What were you thinking?"
"Well, first off, let's put it this way, I probably wasn't thinking because it was a stupid thing to do," said Kneier. "I should have brought it two more blocks to my trash can and thrown it away."
The mayor is apologizing to the neighbor and insists he wasn't trying to seek revenge.
"It never crossed my mind that this was any kind of political issue," said Kneier.
But the neighbor, Philip Lao, isn't buying it. He told Moret, "Lies, lies and fertilize."
"You don't believe the mayor's story?" asked Moret.
"That's right," said Lao.
Lao showed us where he found the bag of poop and the actual black plastic bag.
Hear More from Lao and Kneier
One issue he and the mayor have fought over is the "No Poop Zone" signs on his property. He says the mayor considers the signs unsightly.
"He thinks he'll teach me a lesson, he'll show me what dog waste is," said Lao.
The mayor repeated his apology at a city council meeting Wednesday night, saying, "I was in great regret that I did that and I apologized for that."
Then it was Lao's turn, who said, "You changed your story. You've given different excuses for what happened."
One city resident is upset that the video has attracted media attention around the world and has given San Marino a, well, dirty name. He pointed the finger at Lao, saying, "I'm extremely mad at Mr. Lao because he has got all the media involved in this."
Two sides to the case of the flying dog poop.
The mayor told Moret, "This was definitely a mistake that I regret."
Lao told Moret, "I think he should resign."
