Died – 7/27/18
Handler – Constable Fahraad Ishmael
Suspect kills police dog by throwing under moving truck
A Pietermaritzburg police dog handler was “very traumatised” on Friday after a suspect he and colleagues were apprehending grabbed his dog and threw him in front of a passing truck, killing him. “The handler has been getting counselling,” Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Oberholzer, commander of the Dog Unit in the provincial capital, said. He added that Constable Fahraad Ishmael and colleagues had been on the trot since 6pm on Thursday and he was also very tired and had gone home to rest. His dog, a German shepherd named Brynmore, was three years old. Friday morning’s incident happened when the Stock Theft Unit asked for help from the K9 unit after a vehicle they later discovered contained cattle carcasses attempted to knock over a policeman. “The vehicle then started driving on the wrong side of the (Johannesburg-bound) N3, then came back on to an ordinary road where there was a shoot-out,” said Oberholzer. “The suspects began to flee. One grabbed the dog (Brynmore) as he was about to bite him and threw him in front of a truck. “Other dogs were released and they got him.” Oberholzer added that unlicensed firearms were found underneath the carcasses. One suspect was killed during the incident, said police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele. Two were taken to hospital under arrest. “Charges of attempted murder and an inquest docket were opened for investigation. The case dockets were transferred to the Organised Crime Unit for further investigation,” Mbele said.