Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is denying comments Charla Nash made saying that Malloy was aware when he was the mayor of Stamford that the chimpanzee that mauled her was dangerous.
In an interview with The Hartford Courant, Nash, the Stamford woman who was attacked in 2009, said Malloy knew the animal's owner, Sandra Herold, and warned her to lock-up the chimp following a previous incident where the primate got loose and roamed Stamford.
Malloy told reporters Tuesday that while he had met Herold at meetings he hosted as mayor, the two never discussed the chimp.
“Like everyone else in Stamford, (I) assumed they were fully compliant with the law,” Malloy said. “I certainly did not know that the chimp offered any special danger than its existence.”
Sandra Herold died in 2010.
Nash is awaiting a state official's decision on whether she can sue Connecticut for damages.
