Long ago in Vegas the cops came to us with a case they wanted us to take federal. It seems that a certain dirtbag, years earlier, had contributed to a riot by to shooting a canine officer. He wounded both cop – and his dog. And he got away with it. At this trial for attempted murder of a police officer, his defense was “I was aiming at the dog.” Fast forward few years to a time when we were adopting local cases – when it was viable – because our statutes were better and we were absolutely hammering scumbags. Well, this time scumbag robbed a connivence store – the type that “does business in interstate commerce” – making it a federal offense. Whoops. Down came the hammer. The wounded cop (still carrying lead in his body) attended scumbag’s sentencing. He appreciated our commitment to he and his canine partner. Finally, the dog also recovered, and was home enjoying retirement as I recall.
This story stirred my recollection.
Attempted murder of K-9 officer
Edit: I recently found the old article. This was a case that gave me great pleasure to take federally. And I made sure the cop was invited to attend the sentencing. One of those times it was good to be a boss and have the authority to do the right thing.
After reading the article, however, a correction is in order. Contrary to my ever-failing memory, the pooch, a German Shepherd Dog named Shogo had passed away, but not from gun shots. He retired and lived a long life – 14. That’s old for a GSD.
The most moving part of the article, and the events, was Officer Wall’s statement that the dirbag’s acquital was a “crushing blow….I almost left the Police Department”.
As Officer Wall further stated “what goes around comes around sooner or later”. Not always. But if the right people have anything to say about it, there’a a far better chance.
