K-9 Bak

Stephens County Sheriff’s Office August 24, 2016

K-9 Bak, an 8-year-old German Shepard had joined the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office when he was two years old. K-9 Bak then served with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office for two years before being placed with his handler, Deputy Sheriff Matthew Peck.

The pair had been partners for four years when on Wednesday, August 24, 2016, they received a call to the scene of a traffic accident where K-9 Bak was used. Upon returning home afterwards, K-9 Bak was left in the patrol unit for approximately thirty-eight hours without food or water. K-9 was found deceased in the patrol unit by Deputy Sheriff Peck about 10:40 a.m. the morning of Friday, August 26th. The outside temperature in Duncan had reached ninety-nine degrees on Thursday

.

Deputy Sheriff Matthew Peck was terminated from the sheriff’s office and charged in state court with animal cruelty.

OLEM – 11-1-8

Updated August 23, 2023

K-9 Brisco
Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office

K-9 Brisco

Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office  November 9, 2007

About 4:30 a.m. Friday, November 9, 2007, Oklahoma County K-9 Deputy Sheriff Kevin Johnson, his K-9 partner Deputy Brisco and other deputies made a traffic stop of an SUV near

I-44 and I-35 in Oklahoma City.

As the deputies were getting the occupants of the SUV out of the vehicle one of the men took off running east bound over south bound I-35. Deputy Kevin Johnson saw there was no traffic and released his canine partner Brisco. As canine Deputy Brisco was crossing the north bound lanes in pursuit of the suspect he was struck by a pickup truck and killed.

Canine Deputy Brisco was a six-year-old Dutch Shepard and had been with the sheriff’s office for three years. His funeral services were conducted with full law enforcement honors on Tuesday, November 13th at Precious Pets Cemetery, 5510 N. Spencer Road in Spencer.

OLEM – 11-1-3

Updated September 9, 2023

K-9 Cooper
Bartlesville Police Department   July 25, 2010

Cooper, a 3 year old drug dog had to be euthanized the week of July 25, 2010, because of advanced kidney failure. It was soon learned that Cooper had been poisoned when an “unacceptable amount of antifreeze” was found in his system.

K-9 Creed
Panama Police Department  August 5, 2012

 Sometime Sunday evening, August 5, 2012, Creed, a two-year-old German Shepard canine for the Panama Police Department, was shot in the head and killed while in the yard of the home of his partner, Sergeant Andy Bevil.  The shooting occurred while Sergeant Bevil was at church with his wife and two children, ages 8 and 3. Creed was found dead when they returned home about 8:30 p.m. Sergeant Bevil said “There is no doubt he was targeted because of the drug searches”.  Bevil said they had done several drug searches on vehicles prior to the shooting.

Creed joined the Panama Police Department in August 2011. There was a memorial service conducted for Creed on Wednesday, August 15th at 11 AM at the Panama First Baptist Church,

107 Jones Street in Panama.

OLEM – 11-1-5

Updated August 5, 2023

K-9 Sgt. Don Vom Ederbergland
McLoud Police Department  January 1, 2002

Just before midnight the evening of Monday, December 31, 2001, McLoud K-9 Police Officer Ron Ross and his six-year-old German Shepard K-9 partner Sgt. Don were getting in their patrol unit to go on duty when a neighbor’s pit bull-type dog broke loose from his chain and was about to attack the officers. K-9 Sgt. Don immediately leaped from the police unit and started chasing the dog back to its home.  Officer Ross was running to retrieve K-9 Sgt. Don. The two dogs crossed in front of the dog’s owner’s house. Sgt. Don responding to his partner’s commands stopped chasing the other dog and was starting to return to Officer Ross when the other dog’s owner, Tommy Dale Delk, started shooting at Sgt. Don with a semi-automatic rifle hitting him numerous times. Some of the shots also appeared to have been directed toward Officer Ross and his house where his wife was. After the shooting stopped Ross heard laughing coming from Delk’s porch area.

Sgt. Don received extensive medical treatment but did not survive and died Tuesday afternoon, January 1, 2002, about 3:30p.m. Sgt. Don had been commissioned with the McLoud Police Department for almost two years and was given badge #7. His services were conducted at 3 p.m. Friday, January 4th at Precious Pets Cemetery, 5510 N Spencer Road in Spencer.

Tommy Dale Delk, 50, was charged with reckless handling of a firearm and killing a police dog.

OLEM – 11-1-2  

Updated September 13, 2023

K-9 Helo

Owasso Police Department  March 21, 2023

K-9 Helo was a two-year-old Belgin Malinois born October 24, 2020, and had graduated handler school with his handler, Officer Chris Harmon on January 28, 2022. K-9 Helo had only been working for the Owasso Police Department just over a year when he suddenly collapsed during a strenuous training exercise on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. K-9 Helo was immediately transported to a veterinarian where he died from a massive hemorrhage.

OLEM – 11-1-15

Updated July 1, 2024

K-9 Kye - Handler Sgt.Ryan Stark
Oklahoma City Police Department  August 26,20214

At about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, August 25, 2014, Oklahoma City Police received a burglary call to a business at 7233 S. Air Depot. When officers arrived, they observed a man run to a vehicle and drive away. Officers pursued the vehicle west on I -240 to I-35 then south on I-35. The chase went out of Oklahoma County, through Cleveland County and into McLain County. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers joined in the pursuit as it came into Norman.

Near the Goldsby exit of I-35 OHP troopers used a tactical vehicle maneuver causing the vehicle to run off the road on the west side of I-35. The suspect jumped out and began running south near the service road. Oklahoma City Police K-9 handler Sgt. Ryan Stark released his three-year-old German Shepard canine partner Kye to chase the suspect. Kye caught up to and apprehended the suspect behind a building. As Sgt. Stark caught up to Kye and the suspect he observed the suspect stabbing Kye with a knife. Stark tried to separate the suspect from Kye before he drew his weapon and fatally shot the suspect, Mark Salazar, 22, of Blue Mound, Texas.

K-9 Kye was rushed to a veterinarian for emergency surgery. K-9 Kye died from complications from his stab wounds about 3:30 p.m. the next day, Monday, August 26th.

K-9 Kye was buried at Precious Pets Cemetery in Spencer following a funeral with full police honors on Thursday morning, August 28th.

OLEM – 11-1-6

Updated August 23, 2023

K-9 Jaeger

Stephens County Sheriff’s Office May 14, 2021

Six-year-old German Shepard K-9 Jaeger had served five years with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office when on Wednesday, May12, 2021, he suffered serious spinal injuries when he fell on his back attempting to jump into his handler, Inspector Kevin Tyus’s patrol unit in the Stephens County Courthouse parking lot.

Despite receiving extensive medical treatment, it was determined that K-9 Jaeger would not survive his spinal injuries, and he was humanely euthanized on Friday, May 14, 2021.

OLEM – 11N-1-12

Updated September 13, 2023

K-9 Oli

Muskogee Police Department July 1, 2020

The evening of Wednesday, July 1, 2020, Canine Handler Officer Taylor Hignite and his K-9 partner, Oli, were training on tracking at the Muskogee Police Department gun range. After completing a short track Officer Hignite put Oli back in the air-conditioned patrol unit. A few minutes passed while the training track was debriefed before Officer Hignite returned to the patrol unit to find his canine partner, Oli unresponsive but breathing.

Immediately measures were taken to revive and cool Oli down not knowing if it was heat related or not at this point. K-9 Oli was then transported to the Tulsa Emergency Animal Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

K-9 Oli was a four-year-old Belgian Malinois and had been with the Muskogee Police Department since July 2018. K-9 Oli was buried at the Muskogee Police Department range with full police honors.

OLEM – 11N-1-11

Updated September 13, 2023

K- 9 Rudy
Oklahoma City Police Department  March 16, 2001

 At about 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 16, 2001, Joseph L. Meyer, 33, fled on foot from the scene of a non-injury accident near NW 36th and N. Pennsylvania. At about the same time Justin Cornielson was preparing to unload cases of Budweiser beer from a tractor-trailer at the Homeland grocery store at NW 39th and Pennsylvania (Penn). Justin Cornielson had just opened the back of his truck when Joseph Meyer climbed into the driver’s seat and started driving off. Oklahoma City Police officers started pursuing the stolen beer truck south bound on Pennsylvania. The truck turned east on NW 5th street. Cases of beer were flying out on to the street.

 As the chase continued east and neared Walker Avenue Sergeant Jim Wheatley tried to ram the truck but got his scout car trapped under the truck and was being dragged. Joseph Meyer turned the truck right at N. Walker, freeing the scout car, but lost control and crashed the beer truck into a building at 500 N. Walker.

As officers scrambled out of their police cars, police dog Rudy was unintentionally allowed to leave his police canine unit and mistakenly attacked Police Sergeant Randy Hall. Sergeant Hall thought he was being attacked by a neighborhood dog and shot it, killing police canine Rudy, a ten-year-old Belgian Malinois. Canine Rudy had served with the Oklahoma City Police Department for five years with his partner and handler, Sergeant Lyndell Easley. Rudy had served with a law enforcement agency in Michigan prior to coming to Oklahoma City.

Joseph Meyer was arrested near the scene and charged with larceny of a vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to elude police.

OLEM – 11-1-1

Updated March 8, 2024

K-9 Smokey

Nowata Police Department  August 28, 2018

The evening of Tuesday, August 28, 2018, Officer Jeramiah Frauenberger stopped two people walking down the center of Highway 169. One of the people, a woman, believed to be under the influence of something, asked the officer if he had his canine dog with him and could he give them a ride. Officer Frauenberger advised her that he did have his canine partner with him and that he could not take them anywhere. At that moment the officer saw the woman reaching for the back door handle of the police unit and yelled for her not to open the door. The woman opened the door and K-9 Smokey jumped out and ran across the highway. When Officer Frauenberger yelled for Smokey the canine started back across the highway and was struck and killed by an eighteen wheeler semi-truck.

 Smokey was a black Labrador and a CLEET certified drug detection dog.

Services for Smokey were conducted on Thursday afternoon, September 6th, in Nowata at Stumpf’s Funeral Home with burial at the Nowata Memorial Park Cemetery. 

The lady who let Smokey out was given five years’ probation which she soon violated the terms of her probation and a felony warrant issued for her arrest.

OLEM – 11-1-10

Updated August 26, 2023

K-9 Tito

Eufaula Police Department  September 15, 2021

About 3 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, Eufaula Police Officer Connor Enox was preparing to run training scenarios with his four-year-old canine partner Tito. Officer Enox went to set up the scenarios leaving K-9 Tito in the patrol unit with the air conditioning blowing. When Officer Enox returned to the patrol unit about thirty minutes later, he found the air conditioning had malfunctioned and was blowing hot air. K-9 Tito was found unresponsive in the back of the police unit.

K-9 Tito was rushed to the police department’s veterinarians at Honor Heights Veterinary Clinic. Very soon afterwards K-9 Tito was transported to the Oklahoma Veterinary Specialist in Jenks escorted by three police vehicles on the emergency run.

The doctors worked on K-9 Tito for hours into the evening, but it was determined K-9 Tito had sustained sever, irreversible brain damage and had to be put to sleep.

K-9 Tito was buried next to his fellow Eufaula K-9 Gino.

OLEM – 11N-1- 13

Updated September 13, 2023

K-9 Tuco

Stephens County Sheriff’s Office  May 20, 2018

At approximately 4 a.m. the morning of Sunday, May 20, 2018, Deputy Sheriff Matthew Brown and his Belgian Malinois canine partner Tuco were one of two Stephens County units responding to a vehicle accident reportedly involving people trapped in a ravine on Highway 29 that was filling with water after a large storm hit the area. Deputy Sheriff Brown’s unit hit a low water filled spot of the road near Duncan Lake Road and Plato Road, hydroplaned, flipped, and landed upside down in a ditch filled with water. The unit then caught fire. Deputy Sheriff Garrett Hunt, who was following behind Brown, stopped and went under the water. Deputy Sheriff Hunt was able to get Deputy Sheriff Matthew Brown out of the car after breaking out a window. Both deputies then tried several times to get K-9 Tuco out of the back of the unit but were unsuccessful and K-9 Tuco drowned.  

Deputy Sheriff Matthew Brown was treated for minor injuries and released from Duncan Regional Hospital.

OLEM – 11-1-9

Updated August 26, 2023

K-9 Wessel

Lawton Police Department  January 2, 2014

K-9 Wessel, a two-year-old Dutch Shepard was purchased by the Lawton Police Department from Justin Hutchins, who owned and operated a tactical canine training facility in Muskogee, Oklahoma. On May 6, 2011, K-9 Wessel was commissioned as an officer and was assigned to Lawton Police Department K-9 handler, Sergeant Michael Porter. In 2012 K-9 Wessel and his handler Sergeant Porter were assigned to the Special Operations Detective Unit.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Lawton Police Detectives Durham, and Hall conducted a traffic stop at Summit and 5th Street. Detective Durham contacted Detective Porter requesting a K-9 response. Upon arrival at the traffic stop, Detective Porter deployed a K-9 Wessel. After “alerting” on the vehicle, K-9 Wessel was given his tennis ball as a reward. As K-9 Wessel bit into the tennis ball, the ball ruptured, and K-9 Wessel ingested a large portion of it. Within a short time, the remnants of the ball were lodged in K-9 Wessel’s intestinal track which resulted in emergency surgery on Thursday, December 12th. K-9 Wessel had a subsequent surgery on Saturday, December 28, 2013, due to multiple complications. On Thursday, January 2, 2014, K-9 Wessel succumbed to the intestinal injury and complications.

The traffic stop on December 10, 2013, on which K-9 Wessel alerted, yielded thirteen pounds of marijuana, elements of drug trafficking, $10,000 cash and a felony arrest.

OLEM – 11N-1-14

Updated August 26, 2023

K-9 Zeke

Muldrow Police Department July 23, 2015

On Thursday, July 23, 2015, K-9 Zeke’s handler went out at the Muldrow police station working on a case leaving the seven-year-old Labrador, K-9 Zeke, in the patrol unit with the air conditioning running. When his handler returned to the patrol unit ninety minutes later, he found that the air conditioner had malfunctioned and was blowing hot air. His handler found K-9 Zeke, deceased in the unit from heat exhaustion. K-9 Zeke had been with the Muldrow Police Department for four years.

OLEM – 11-1-7

Updated August 26, 2023