K9 Nixwa – Otis, Oregon

Died – 3/20/16

Police drug dog shot and killed after attacking child and mother

A drug detection dog attacked a 2-year-old boy and his mother before it was shot to death by a neighbor in Otis, Oregon, about 2 hours south of Portland on the coast.The dog that attacked the boy and his mother was a 4-year-old Belgian Malanois drug detection dog assigned to the Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department. The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, but the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office declined to release the location of the attack because it identifies a police officer’s home address. Investigators learned when the mother attempted to pull the dog off the boy, she was then attacked. The mother threw a stick at a neighbor’s window to get help. “The neighbor fired one round from his shotgun over the top of the dog that was still actively biting the mother,” Lincoln County Sgt. Brian Cameron said. When the warning shot didn’t get the attack to stop, the neighbor fired a second round that hit and killed the dog. The boy was transported, treated and then released from Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. A spokesperson for The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde was unable for comment regarding this story.

Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.