A police dog in Indiana was shot dead Wednesday while tracking down a suspected drunken driver who tried to escape police by bolting through a wooded area.
K-9 Harlej had been called in to help officers in the manhunt for 19-year-old Richard Garrett Jr., who had run from his vehicle after a brief car chase on Interstate 69, the Fishers Police Department said in a news release.
K-9 Officer Jarred Koopman, Harlej’s handler, eventually spotted Garrett and ordered him to surrender. But Garrett refused and ran away, prompting Koopman to let Harlej off his leash to chase the suspect.
The 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, the same breed as the military dog who helped take out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month, ran ahead of Koopman and out of his sight. Officers then heard a gunshot and were unable to find Harlej. – READ MORE