A police dog in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is dead after it attacked its handler, forcing the officer to shoot the K-9.
K-9 Officer Keith Larson was dispatched Tuesday with his police dog, Nico, to a scene that a suspect had recently fled, reports WMUR.
According to Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, Larson was bit by Nico while getting the dog out and prepped in a parking lot near the scene. Larson tried to disengage the dog, but could not, and was forced to use to his service weapon and fire it at the K-9. “Unfortunately, Nico died at the scene,” Botieri reported to WMUR.
BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM: A policeman holds tight as a police dog barks while guarding the streets outside the Brighton Conference Center 26 September 2004 on the first day of the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. AFP PHOTO/JIM WATSON
Larson was taken to South Shore Hospital to be treated for his injuries after multiple officers and an ambulance arrived on the scene to assist him. Larson had injuries to both of his hands but is expected to be okay, reports WMUR. (RELATED: Florida Man Who Killed Police K-9 Sentenced To 25 Years)
Botieri commented on Larson, saying, “Officer Larson is a 17-year veteran of the Plymouth Police Department with an exemplary record.”
Larson has been with the K-9 unit since 2017 and assigned to Nico in 2019. Nico was one of two K-9’s in the department. According to Botieri, Nico had bitten Larson back in April and was reassigned to the K-9 Academy to get recertified, which they did in July.