DALLAS, Ga. — “This is basically the perfect storm of some of the most tragic events of that you can think of."
That's how Paulding County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ashley Henson described the encounter between a deputy and a police dog who was shot and killed.
K-9 Officer Verro died in the line of duty last week as officers were pursing a suspect involved in a domestic dispute.
“He was a fantastic working dog, he was business," Henson said.
"He came to work and he helped fight crime.”
It happened in the Saddlebrook Farms Subdivision on Friday. As deputies approached the scene, Henson said they tried to perform a traffic stop.
"A male ran from the passenger side of a vehicle, when he did, deputies obviously gave chase, and it turns out that was the male from the domestic," he said.
"They chased the male through yards, over fences all through this subdivision," he added.
Cpl. Brandon Kilgore, who Henson said is the K-9's handler, pulled up where the suspect was in his vicinity.
“When Cpl. Kilgore got out of the vehicle he gave chase," Henson explained. "When he put his vehicle in park and closed the door, the center door that divides the kennel from the driver’s compartment of the vehicle, the door was partially opened, and K-9 Verro was able to squeeze through there and get into the driver’s compartment of the vehicle"
He said once that happened, the Belgian Malinois jumped out of the driver side window that was partially open. Henson said Verro latched onto the first person he saw - a deputy at the scene.
“K-9 Verro apprehended one of the deputies chasing after the suspect," he said. "The deputy, who did not know the dog was one of ours, tried to get the dog off, and the dog would not come off, because that’s what they are trained to do, bite and hold."
The deputy drew his service weapon and shot and killed K-9 Verro, Henson explained. The police dog died at the scene.
Henson said the horrific accident has left everyone hurt.
"This is such a difficult situation, because not only do you have a handler who’s lost his partner, but you you’ve got another deputy who’s impacted," he said. “It such a tragic, tragic accident and really no fault of anyone.”
K-9 officer dies in tragic shooting during confusion of police chase
Henson, who is a former K-9 handler, gave perspective on how the police dogs are generally used at scenes.
“They have buttons on their belt where they can actually push a button and the right rear door of the vehicle opens up and the dog deploys," he explained.
Henson said once that happens, the police dog usually looks for his handler for direction, or goes after a running suspect. They seek to apprehend.
"In this particular situation, the dog got out on his own, and you can only suspect that in his mind, when he got out of the vehicle, he’s looking for the first running away suspect," Henson said.
The sheriff's office is asking everyone to keep Cpl. Kilgore, his family, the injured deputy and their officer in their thoughts and prayers.
Authorities said the deputy who was bitten will heal over time. As for the suspect they were searching for, he was taken into custody.
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