SALT LAKE CITY — A fugitive wanted by law enforcement as well as a police service dog were both killed late Thursday as U.S. marshal agents in Salt Lake City tried to apprehend the outstanding suspect.
By Friday morning, many local law enforcement Facebook pages had changed their profile pictures to the Herriman police patch next to a police K9 badge in honor of Hondo, the dog that was killed, deseret.com reported.
The fatal incident occurred just before midnight near 400 East and 300 South. The U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team was looking for a wanted parolee. The fugitive has a violent criminal history, according to Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Holt.
The man was chased after coming out of an apartment and was shot after he brandished a weapon, Holt said.
K9 Hondo was deployed in an attempt to apprehend the fleeing suspect. At some point during the confrontation, Hondo was injured and later died, according to the report. There were no further details supplied.
The name of the fugitive who was killed was not immediately released.
“Our hearts are broken this morning after learning of the death of Herriman City Police K9 Hondo, who was shot and killed late last night while apprehending a violent parole fugitive. Our thoughts are with Herriman PD and particularly with the K9 handler and his family, who lost their beloved partner and friend,” Unified police tweeted Friday.
