WADESBORO, N.C. — Channel 9 learned that a K-9 named Blitz was shot and killed by a police officer during a police chase with the Wadesboro Police Department earlier this week.
Blitz was a retired drug dog donated to the Wadesboro Police Department by dog breeder Josh Harrington in January. The K-9 was trained in narcotics and tracking, not in apprehension, said Harrington.
“He was sweet,” Harrington said. “My wife loved him to death. She would go and sit in the kennels with him and play with him.”
Blitz joined the department when it was rebooting its K-9 unit.
“They were not interested in bite work,” Harrington said. “They were not interested in apprehension, and I said, ‘Perfect.’”
Harrington said Blitz was the perfect fit and was only to be used as a drug and tracking dog.
“Everybody understood that the dog was not to be used in apprehension,” Harrington said.
However, Wadesboro police said Blitz and his handler were trying to catch a suspect. Blitz grabbed hold of the suspect, causing injuries.
Moments later, Blitz was killed in the line of duty.
Channel 9 learned that a Wadesboro police officer was the one who shot Blitz.
We are still working to verify what exactly happened in the moments leading up to the K-9′s death.
“Gross negligence from the top to the bottom,” Harrington said.
He claims the handler and Blitz were not certified as a team, which is not required in the state but is highly recommended.
“They had the dog for 60-something days,” Harrington said. “They did not have enough time to even go through a training course.”
Harrington remembers Blitz as a stellar dog and companion and wants transparency on what happened.
“I am upset that they tried to pin this on an innocent dog that was put into a situation that he should have never been in,” Harrington said. “Blitz should have never been put in this situation from the start. Blitz did nothing wrong.”
Harrington said Blitz was a successful drug dog at his previous agency in another state, helping to get drugs off the street and saving lives.
Channel 9 left two voicemails for Wadesboro Interim Police Chief Jason Eschert and emailed him to try to get his side of things and ask if that handler had any training with Blitz or if there was an investigation into this.
As of late Thursday afternoon, we haven’t heard back.
VIDEO: Wadesboro mourns K-9 officer killed during traffic stop
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