How terrible for Dio and his family. I hope the person who murdered Dio gets the strongest penalty.
Thanks to KansasCity.com for this article.
Police dog dies in plunge, may have been pushed from rooftop
By CHRISTINE VENDEL
The Kansas City StarKansas City police were investigating Wednesday whether a burglar was to blame for the death of a police dog that fell from the roof of a three-story building.
The dog named Dio had been pursuing three burglary suspects when he went over the edge of the vacant building at 2311 Jefferson Street about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday. A police sergeant found Dio, a Belgian Malinois, dead in a parking lot on the other side of a fence surrounding the building.
Police painstakingly collected evidence from the scene after the dogs death.
We went the whole nine yards,” said Sgt. Carl Abraham. We had crime scene (technicians) take photos and measurements. We took hair samples from the dog and got the suspects clothing. We did everything we could possibly think of so if someone is responsible, we know we did our job.”
Killing or disabling a police animal is a class D felony in Missouri, punishable by up to four years in prison. No charges were filed Wednesday, and the three suspected burglars were released from jail pending more investigation.
The incident began Wednesday with a 911 call reporting a burglary in progress at the empty warehouse. A witness saw three men enter the building.
Patrol officers who responded to the call found a door open and called for a police dog. Dogs can search large buildings more quickly and efficiently than a human.
Dio and his handler, Officer Ronald Jenkins, went into the building where the burglars had entered and Dio immediately picked up a scent, police said. Dio ran to a boiler where he found copper pipes that had been removed and tools used in their removal, but no people. Dio then darted toward a stairwell ahead of Jenkins.
When Jenkins and another officer got to the roof, Dio was gone. The officers found two suspects on a small, raised portion of the roof. Officers found a third suspect at the edge of the roof on the side of the building where Dio went over.
Dio may have lunged at the suspect and gone over the edge, or misjudged the side of the building, Abraham said. Or possibly Dio was thrown over, he said.
Dio was 4 years old and had worked with Jenkins for 18 months. Jenkins was devastated by Dios death.
Hes still pretty shaken up,” Abraham said. They are with us all the time. Theyre like members of the family. Its tough.
The main goal of a police dog is to please their handler. They are brave and selfless and do the job without any recognition,” Abraham said.
