# Deputies: Man Shot After Stabbing K-9



## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

TAYLORS, S.C. -- A purse snatching suspect was shot by deputies Thursday morning after he stabbed a police dog, according to Greenville County sheriff’s Spokesman Shea Smith.

Smith said deputies followed a tip and found 34-year-old Jerry Dean Davis inside his car on Carver Road near Lagos Road in Taylors. A deputy said he recognized the car as the vehicle used by the suspect in the purse snatching. When the deputy approached the car, he said he saw Davis sleeping inside, so he called for backup.

When the deputies awoke Davis and attempted to arrest him, they said Davis got out of the car and had “obviously poured gasoline all over himself.” Deputies said that Davis was holding two knives, one a butcher knife. Deputies sprayed water on Davis to try to prevent the possibility of fire. When he threatened deputies with the knives, they fired bean-bag projectiles at him to try to get him to drop the knives, deputies said 
Deputies said Davis then ran from them, and was chased by a K-9 unit that had arrived at the scene.

The police dog grabbed hold of Davis and was taking him down, and deputies said that’s when Davis stabbed the dog several times. Deputies said Davis then brandished the weapon at them, and they opened fire. Smith said Davis was shot by "at least one deputy."

Davis was airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital. The dog was rushed to an emergency animal hospital.

Davis is suspected of a purse snatching at a Greenville County BiLo store on Tuesday. A woman said he followed her into the women’s bathroom, reached over the door of the stall and took her purse from the hook.

The woman and several witnesses chased Davis out of the store. Police said when the victim tried to block Davis' car in the parking lot by standing behind it, he backed into her as he made his escape. 

Smith says deputies found Davis in the same white Mercury Sable used in the BI-LO crime.

The police dog, whose name is Kroc, underwent surgery late Thursday morning. Police said Kroc, who is 3-years-old, is expected to survive.

The doctors with Upstate Veterinary Specialist repaired damage to Kroc's chest, lungs and liver, and they removed his gallbladder. Following the 2.5 hour-long surgery, Kroc was in critical condition.

Police said that Kroc has been assigned to the K-9 unit for about 18 months.

Davis expected to survive. As of Friday morning, he remained in critical condition. There were no details available on the extent of his injuries.

Among other charges, deputies said that Davis will be charged with unlawful injury to a police dog, which carried a penalty of up to three years in prison.

The sheriff's office said it has been determined that three deputies fired at Davis. All three are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Which brings the old adage to mind; don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I hope the dog recovers quickly and is able to return to work. The paid admin leave is standard practice. sounds like there won't be a problem with ruling it a good shoot, but they do have to go through the procedures. I even hope the "bad" guy survives his wounds so he can think about it in prison.

DFrost


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

the knife went through Croc's chest wall, cutting a rib in two, slitting one of his lungs. The knife also cut into Kroc's diaphragm, liver and gallbladder. 
He is now back home with his handler and one of the guy's said tonight that he should be able to return to work. I hear he put up an awesome fight even while being stabbed. Hopefully the jerk who stabbed him will get whats coming to him.


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

Good job Croc! He deserves lots of "frosty paw" sundays till he gets better!


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Croc is a hero.......so are the deputies who came to his defense.


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## Kayce Cover (Oct 30, 2007)

Glad the officers all acted. I saw a sickening video of a dog being drowned by a bad guy and the officer did not shoot the guy and I felt very ill about that. Dog is taking same risks as humans, deserves same back up.

It is a relief to hear that the officers are not likely to get hung out to dry. It's a huge relief that the dog is likely to live and work again. 

It is a huge relief that the good guys got the bad guy this time around, but I'm glad he didn't die. It would have complicated things for everyone else!


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

Kayce Cover said:


> I saw a sickening video of a dog being drowned by a bad guy and the officer did not shoot the guy and I felt very ill about that. !


We (Law Enforcement) are not allowed to use deadly force in protection of a Police Dog.....unfortunate, the bad guy's life is viewed by the courts as more valuable than the dog's. The dog is considered property, and you can't use deadlt force to protect property.


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

Matthew Grubb said:


> We (Law Enforcement) are not allowed to use deadly force in protection of a Police Dog.....unfortunate, the bad guy's life is viewed by the courts as more valuable than the dog's. The dog is considered property, and you can't use deadlt force to protect property.


At least the badguy who stabbed Croc gave them a reason by brandishing the knife. I'm not saying the officers used it as an excuse, I am sure officers are never happy they are forced to use what very well could be deadly force. I'm just saying I am personally glad the guy made such a foolish move.


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## Kayce Cover (Oct 30, 2007)

Thanks, Matthew. I'm with Susan - I'm very glad that Croc's guy gave an acceptable "excuse" to take action. I did not realize that you are not allowed to use force to protect a dog. That must be hard to take. I thought I had read that that had changed now - but I guess not everywhere, if anywhere.


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## Mari Steward (Mar 3, 2008)

I am glad that they shot that guy...he desired it. I am sure that those officers would back each other regardless. After all that man was brandishing a dangerous weapon and refushed to relinguish it. Was he on crack or somehting?


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## Christian Watts (Feb 17, 2008)

A couple things that I liked in this post;
1. It is encouraging to see a state pass laws making it a felony to assault a police animal. Not every state has such laws.
2. The situation was so that the officers were able to use whatever means necessary to protect the dog.

I think when the powers that be, see the cost of losing and replacing a patrol dog, things will change countrywide. Sadly after something like a dog being downed or maimed to the point that it is out of service, happens enough times the bean counters will chime in. The perspective will change from the dog being "chattel" to "the dog is an Law Enforcement officer like any other" My two cents


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Whether or not injuring a police dog is a felony or misdemeanor, the most critical statement made was; "Deputies said Davis then brandished the weapon at them,.........." The rules for use of deadly force are fairly consistent from one state to another.

DFrost


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## Mark Horne (Oct 12, 2006)

Why release a dog on a man with a knife, covered in gasoline, if he is stood there with the knife then just wait and contain him, if he attempts to attack officers with the knives then use firearms. It's so sad that K9 injuries and fatalities are caused by this macho "my dog will take him out" attitude. Clearly it was doomed to failure(he had two knives and gasoline). I've just watched NatGeo and seen a Texas K9 officer send his dog into the river after two escaped cons, they were stood in 5ft of water; anybody want to guess what happened to the dog, fortunately it lived. The cons were contained by 20 officers and the helicopter, they weren't going anywhere.
Why sacrifice K9's in No Win situations. It's a sad fact of life that K9s are often killed when deployed with judgement. This situation does appear on the face rather reckless, even a dog hater would argue at what cost to the taxpayer did this decsion have.
The dogs are great, unfortunately Tactical Resolutions need to be planned and implimented by supervisors, especially Special Population Groups (suicidal)

Thank God the Dog will live.

Mark


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## Epi Gumatay (Apr 4, 2007)

Good Point Mark, I agree sending the dog against a knife is wrong. I guess its because the guy ran so thats why they sent the dog. Im sure it was a tough call for all the officers to make.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Wasn't there, can't second guess. The story said the man ran. Don't know when they found out he had a knife. If a situation is right, and it calls for the dog you send it. There is never a guarentee the dog won't be shot, stabbed, body slammed etc. They are working dogs, not house pets.

DFrost


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

Mark said: It's so sad that K9 injuries and fatalities are caused by this macho "my dog will take him out" attitude. 

Like David I was not there, but I have worked with some of the K9 officer's on a couple of search's. I have not come across any who have a macho attitude. While like most of us they have confidence in their K9s and would not have deployed him had the situation not called for it. 
Case in point just the week before after joining in a chase one of the K9 officers was forced to shoot a suspect. This suspect was armed with a weapon and had it pointed at a hostage. The officer could have sent his dog but took the shot instead. Long story short the hostage lived and all officers including the K9 went home. Deploying a K9 or firing a weapon... uhm I'm no cop but I'm sure it's a tuff call either way.


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## Christian Watts (Feb 17, 2008)

Since I'm hearing a difference in opinions on use of the working dog.
Let me ask those who would know; Why would you send a dog?
When is it appropriate to send a dog?


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Each deployment is purely situational. As you can imagine, each time an officer deploys any use of force it's an on-the-spot, under pressure decision. The analysis of that decision is generally made, after the fact, without the adrenelin, in a comfortable office over coffee. Having said that, as to why I would release a dog, to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon, to act as disruptor to protect a fellow officer, self-defense, to protect the citizenry. Deployment would also include, searching for; be it, building/area search or a track, depending on the situation would be on or off leash. The appropriate is pretty much covered by "the when". One factor that is not a primary consideration in most deployments is; the safety of the dog. As harsh as that may sound, indecision, failure to react, or hesitancy in many, (most) situations can be tragic. This isn't to say I'd release a dog in a fusilade of gunfire, but the safety of the dog is not a primary factor in that decision. 

DFrost


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

Good post David.


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## David Stucenski (Mar 29, 2008)

I will never second guess another K9 Officer. Someone in a suit in a comfortable office making way more money than me can do that. I was not there. Unlike others I have seen that "My badass dog will take them out attitude" It is a sad day when handlers send thier dog on suicide missons. I like to use this compairsion. A K9 is equal force to a baton. Look at the situation, would you be comfortable using a baton on this guy or a gun? Baton = dog send. Yes there will be times of the element of unknown takes over. Think.....If I know the guy had a weapon ie..knife, gun , lead pipe guess what I am not running out there with my baton and the dog should not be used. With all this said there are also other factors. Supervisors that dont understand the dogs use and again all these decesions have to be made split second under stress. Anyone that reads Police K9 magazine that read the article by the editor Jeff where he is seeing an increase of in the line of duty deaths of K9 where the dog should not have been used. So that attitude or lack of education of limitations of a K9 are out there! We also cannot use deadly force to protect a K9..It sucks! But in this situation the guy stabbs the dog and then threatens officers whom I think were probably closing in at that point..Oh well all bets are off!


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## Christian Watts (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks for the clarity. My point in asking was to understand if the dog was a "tool" or an "officer". I am not trying to smug or cold in calling the dog a tool. I realize it is a living animal.
It is the officers discretion on what tool he uses and how in any given situation. If the injuries to the dog spare injuries to an officer, is it not then warranted to use the dog in any available situation regardless of the risk to the dog? (if applicable) 
My father was a cop, I am not. I am a small biz owner in college headed to Law school - a waste of a capable guy, I know I know I hear it all from my LE buddies LOL. That being said, I can't imagine not being at the situation and criticising his actions especially given the tough outcome. How can it even be implied that he was cavalier in his execution? 
What is the purpose of the patrol dog?


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

People implying a deployment of any type was cavalier do tend to get under my skin a bit. Particularly from those that have never been faced with such a situation. Is the dog a tool or an officer? I think it's a bit more complicated than that. From a management perspective (I'm a program manager) it's a tool. If it works, use it. If it's broken, fix it or replace it. From the officers perspective, it's a partner and a tool. The good handler recognizes both aspects of this unique pairing and utilizes them both at the proper time. 

Now did ya hear about the lawyer that.....................

DFrost


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

David said: From the officers perspective, it's a partner and a tool. The good handler recognizes both aspects of this unique pairing and utilizes them both at the proper time. 

For me that's were it would get hard. I mean sure its a dog its tool. BUT spending day in and day out working, training and living with that dog. Would only make the decision to send it into harms way that much harder. And add to it the fact that he will do it (the dog) and not question your decision. Talk about a BOND!


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Training is the key word you mentioned in your response. You train to react, not think. Thinking (shaking, weak knees, puking) comes after the event. There is an old saying that goes something like: "An amateur will train until they get it right. A professional will train until they can't get it wrong." When the day is done, as much as the dog is a partner, I'd much rather bury a dog than a brother officer.

DFrost


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## Will Kline (Jan 10, 2008)

David Frost said:


> There is an old saying that goes something like: "An amateur will train until they get it right. A professional will train until they can't get it wrong." DFrost


Ohhh...I like that saying. Gonna have to put that into my archives for future use!


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## Ron Swart (Jun 7, 2007)

I just read an article about Kroc the GSD getting the Medal of Valor from his Sheriffs Department. Kroc receives medal


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

Here is another video: http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2008-04-08-0020.html


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## Kayce Cover (Oct 30, 2007)

Yay Kroc! Thanks for the video link.


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## Christian Watts (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks for sharing the link. Kudos to the dog hero!

David, Take heart once I get my JD I'm looking into some Fed LE stuff. Is that better or worse? LOL


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

There is always room for a good lawyer. ha ha. 

DFrost


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