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Bulletproof!

© Joy Butler

In a wooded area near Nashville, Tennessee, gunshots rang out as law enforcement officers and a police dog pursued a fleeing bank robber. The desperate man's bullet struck K-9 Aron, rendering his front legs useless. His handler, Officer Burnett sustained a foot wound. Filmed by on-site news crews, the German Shepherd struggled on two legs only, in a noble display of courage and devotion, to protect his partner by covering Officer Burnett's body with his own. Guided by the strong bond shared between the police officer and his K-9 partner, Burnett refused medical treatment until Aron could be rushed to an emergency animal clinic. Sadly, treatment was futile and Aron died. The robber was, later, overtaken and killed in a shootout with SWAT teams. The entire police department mourned the loss of K-9 Aron. But saddest of all, Officer Burnett suffered the loss of a close working partner and family member.

Police agencies began regularly deploying K-9's in the mid fifties, and today, hundreds make use of more than 7000 teams for drug detection, crowd control, suspect apprehension, and officer protection. Law enforcement agencies estimate that a dozen police dogs are killed each year in the line of duty. One factor that may decrease these deaths is the use of bulletproof and stab resistant vests. Unfortunately most police department budgets cannot afford the $600 price tag.

The general public may not realize how much officers depend on their lifesaving partners who are, many times, the first to go into a dangerous situation where desperate people have no respect for the law, the officers, or their guns. Often, the work of a good dog prevents an officer from having to resort to deadly force. As with humans, only a small percentage of dogs are suited for the duties of police work. They must be confident, agile, and obedient. They are called upon to perform scent work, dangerous building searches, to help with suspect apprehension, and to aggressively protect law officers or others if a suspect poses a serious threat. They regularly put their lives on the line for the safety of the community.

The general public may also not realize that, at the end of a tour of duty, the dog does not stay at the station as a tool, but goes home with the officer and lives with him as a family member. They may not understand the strong bond between an officer and his dog, sometimes described as much like that of a parent and child. But 12 year old Stacey Hillman of Florida does.

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