Police Dog

A 27-year-old El Cajon transient was arrested Friday in Lakeside after leading police on a chase that ended shortly after he rammed a Sheriff's Department canine unit car, officers said. The chase started Friday evening in El Cajon when police saw Christopher Rossmiller in a car that had been reported stolen. Officers radioed for assistance from the Sheriff's Department, said Sgt. Roy Stamper of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The family of a man who died after being beaten by Kern County Sheriff's deputies and attacked by a police dog have filed a federal civil rights claim against the officers involved, the department and other agencies, a precursor to a lawsuit. The death of David Silva - which a Kern County autopsy report said was accidental due to hypertensive heart disease - garnered widespread attention because of the number of witnesses to the beating who stepped forward and because officers later detained two witnesses until they turned over their cellphones with video recordings.

A Fontana police dog was injured after he was allegedly thrown out of a second-story window by a parolee who was resisting arrest, authorities said Monday. The dog, whose name is Jaris, was searching with officers Sunday afternoon for the parolee at a home in the 95000 block of Mango Avenue, the Fontana Police Department said. The parolee, identified by authorities as Bryan Bills, 28, refused commands to surrender to officers, who decided to send Jaris into a room where the suspect was holed up, according to police.

A motorist fleeing from police slammed into three other vehicles in El Sereno, killing one man and injuring three other people. Shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollenbeck Division tried to pull over the driver of a silver Chevrolet Suburban on suspicion of driving recklessly, officials said. LAPD Det. Gus Villanueva said the suspect - whose name was not released - fled, and officers briefly lost sight of him. The Suburban then crashed into two sedans and a Toyota 4Runner at the intersection of Poplar Boulevard and Huntington Drive, police said.

A Fontana police dog was evaluated for a possible brain injury or other physical damage after he was thrown out of a second-story window , allegedly by a parolee. Jaris, a 6½-year-old Belgian Malinois, was taken to a veterinary specialist Monday, The Sun reported. Authorities are waiting for test results to determine whether he suffered brain damage. "This is a first," Lt. Gary Aulis, head of the department's K-9 program, told the newspaper. "Of the dogs injured in the line of duty, we've never had something even remotely like this happen.

An award-winning Redondo Beach police dog hanged itself in its handler's yard Tuesday night when its collar became caught on a fence, police said. The 5-year-old German Shepherd, named Bear, was jumping up onto the fence and barking at a pedestrian when his choke chain caught a steel ornament atop the five-foot-high fence about 11 p.m. Bear, who has lived with K-9 Officer Paul Burch for the past four years, placed fourth in two recent police dog competitions.

Drago, the Long Beach Police Department dog who disappeared Monday from his handler's home, was found Wednesday at an animal shelter in Downey, authorities said. Someone in Lakewood found the Belgian Malinois sitting on a porch and brought him to the shelter on Monday, Sgt. Paul LeBaron said. "We're still not sure how he escaped," he said. The dog lives with a Long Beach police officer.

A new police dog named Blitz has joined the ranks of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The Dutch shepherd was purchased with a $4,500 donation from the Elks Santa Ana Lodge. The sheriff's department spent an additional $2,200 for the training costs, spokesman Ron Wilkerson said. Blitz, who will patrol areas including Santa Ana and Tustin, will increase to six the number of law enforcement dogs used by the department, mostly to assist with searches of suspects, Wilkerson said.

A veteran San Diego police officer who pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor animal neglect held an emotional news conference Friday in which he said he made a "terrible mistake" that resulted in the death of his police dog. Paul Hubka, struggling to maintain composure, said he accepted full responsibility for the heatstroke death of Forrest, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois. Hubka said he fell asleep after a long day at work and forgot to take Forrest from the back of the car. On Thursday, Hubka was fined $411 and ordered to pay nearly $5,000 in restitution for the dog's death.

A police dog bit a 27-year-old El Cajon man on his neck and ear Monday as he lay handcuffed on the ground, officials said. The incident began shortly after midnight when El Cajon Police Officers Steve Van Slyke and Tom Lloyd, responding to a complaint of loud music, arrived at an apartment complex on the 300 block of South Lincoln Avenue, police said. Upon their arrival, police officers heard glass breaking across the street.

A man at the center of a videotaped altercation with Kern County sheriff's deputies earlier this month died from heart disease, not baton blows, authorities said Thursday. The county coroner's office labeled David Sal Silva's death accidental, adding that the primary cause was hypertensive heart disease. Videos taken by witnesses showed baton blows and a struggle between Silva and deputies. But at a news conference Thursday in Bakersfield, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said those blows were mainly to his midsection and were not fatal.

A burglary suspect was killed and two police officers shot in a fast-paced string of events in Minnesota on Friday that also involved the death of a motorcyclist. The episode began about 2 p.m. when someone called Minneapolis police to say they had seen a man they thought had burglarized their home last week. When officers arrived, they spotted the suspect, who began to drive off. He struck a police car and almost hit an officer who was on foot, Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau told reporters at a news conference Friday night.

Los Angeles police Thursday identified two suspects who were arrested in connection with an incident in which a man allegedly tried to fire a Tec-9 Mini assault weapon at officers. Arturo Estrada, 18, and Alex Melendez, 25, both of Los Angeles, were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, LAPD officials said. Each suspect is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. LAPD  officials said the shooting took place after officers pulled the men over Wednesday evening on a traffic stop in the 1100 block of South West Boulevard in South Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police said they have found a Tec-9 Mini assault weapon they believe a suspect attempted to fire at officers Wednesday night. LAPD officers conducted a traffic stop at 6:23 p.m. in the 1100 block of South West Boulevard in South L.A. when a passenger quickly got out of the vehicle and pointed an assault weapon at the officers which jammed when he tried to open fire, said Officer Christopher No. Officers fired at the suspect and...

Los Angeles police arrested a teen Wednesday night who allegedly tried to shoot officers with an assault weapon during a traffic stop in West Adams, authorities said. No officers were injured in the shooting, said Officer Christopher No of the Los Angeles Police Department. Police took the teenage suspect, who was not immediately identified, into custody after a search of the neighborhood. LAPD officers conducted a traffic stop at 6:23 p.m. in the 1100 block of South West Boulevard, when the driver quickly got out of his vehicle and pointed a mini-Tec 9 assault weapon at the officers and tried to fire at them, No said.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A Massachussetts Institute of Technology police officer was reported shot on or near campus Thursday evening, according to local media and scanner reports. MIT police could not immediately be reached for comment. An official with the Cambridge Police Department told the Los Angeles Times that Cambridge Police, MIT police and state police were all en route to a "very active" scene. The shots were reported near the campus' Ray and Maria Stata Center, also known as Building 32 , at 10:48 p.m. Eastern time.

A man who led police on a chase through two cities was arrested Sunday for allegedly stabbing a police dog to death at the end of the pursuit, authorities said. Nick Spagnolla, 38, of Pennsylvania was arrested on suspicion of evading police and killing the dog, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Jack Reinholtz said. The incident began about 5:15 p.m. when Officer Jim Weaver attempted to stop Spagnolla for a traffic violation, Reinholtz said.

An informal memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday to honor Pascha, the 6-year-old police dog used by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. The ceremony for the highly trained German shepherd is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Ventura County Sheriff's Department canine training field at the west end of Camarillo Airport, near the department's firing range, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer died after a  shooting on campus, Cambridge Police said Thursday night. The officer was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There was a heavy police presence at the hospital.  There were no other shooting victims reported and there have been no arrests, the Middlesex district attorney's office said in a statement. Multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies swarmed the campus area, including SWAT teams and a bomb squad.

A Fontana police dog was evaluated for a possible brain injury or other physical damage after he was thrown out of a second-story window , allegedly by a parolee. Jaris, a 6½-year-old Belgian Malinois, was taken to a veterinary specialist Monday, The Sun reported. Authorities are waiting for test results to determine whether he suffered brain damage. "This is a first," Lt. Gary Aulis, head of the department's K-9 program, told the newspaper. "Of the dogs injured in the line of duty, we've never had something even remotely like this happen.