Washington Police K-9 Dies After Stabbing

The Vancouver police dog stabbed Tuesday night has died, the agency announced this morning.

Officer Jack Anderson and his K-9 partner, Ike, were in in the area of Fruit Valley and Laframbois roads around 6 p.m. when a patrol unit was called to investigate a suspicious person call, according to Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp.

The K-9 unit assisted with the call, which involved apprehending 25-year-old Jacky Chan Karuo of Vancouver, who had outstanding arrest warrants and ran from police, Kapp said.

When Ike made contact with Karuo, he allegedly stabbed the dog, according to police. Kapp said the dog was taken to DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, where Ike underwent surgery for multiple stab wounds, according to the 24-hour emergency veterinarian office. The dog was reportedly out of surgery and in critical condition at about 11:30 p.m., however Vancouver police announced the dog’s death in a press release at about 3:45 a.m. today.

“It is with much sadness that the Vancouver Police Department announces that K-9 Ike succumbed to his injuries,” the press release said.

Karuo sustained dog bites and was shocked with a stun gun before being arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree domestic violence assault, harming a police dog, and first-degree criminal impersonation, according to police. He was booked into the Clark County Jail.

Information on whether Karuo will face different charges based on the K-9’s death was not immediately available.

Ike was a Belgian Malinois who went into service in 2012.

This isn’t the first time a police dog has died by a suspect in Clark County. In 2011, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office lost police dog Kane after a suspect repeatedly stabbed the dog. Four years earlier, sheriff’s office K-9 Dakota was shot and killed while tracking an armed suspect who allegedly threatened to “kill a cop.”

Officer Anderson’s previous K-9 partner, Farley, was stabbed in the chest while trying to subdue a homeless man in 2006. Farley survived his injuries and remained on duty until he died in 2011.

The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

Tribune News Service