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Died – 11/16/23
Handler – Officer Daniel Gumm
Suspect strangles Sedgwick County K-9
Wichita police identified the K-9 killed in the line of duty on Thursday as Public Service Dog (PSD) Bane.Sheriff Jeff Easter said PSD Bane was eight years old. He came to the sheriff’s office from the Wichita Police Department and has been with his handler for over a year and a half. Lt. Aaron Moses with the Wichita Police Department shared details leading up to PSD Bane’s death. He said around 11:54 a.m., officers with the WPD Domestic Intervention Violence Reduction Team (DIVRT) were in the area of Pawnee and Cherry Creek searching for a robbery and domestic violence battery suspect. Around 12:10 p.m., the officers located the 24-year-old man but he ran into a creek and then into the storm drain under the road. Moses said the man barricaded himself in the drain and refused to come out.Around 1:10 p.m., K-9 teams for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Wichita Police Department were called out to the scene. The K-9s were deployed into the drain with a camera. Both were on extended leashes. There was an altercation between the suspect and PSD Bane. Sheriff Jeff Easter said it’s believed the suspect strangled Bane.“He’s doing okay. I mean, he’s lost a partner, so he’s kind of upset about that, but the fact of the matter is it’s part of what we know can happen and he’s very aware of that,” said the sheriff.Multiple officers, along with two negotiators from the WPD crisis intervention team, arrived on the scene around 1:34 p.m. They made contact with the suspect who “peacefully surrendered” and was taken into custody at 2:40 p.m. The suspect was taken to the hospital with minor injuries from the altercation with the K-9s, according to police.Moses said after he receives treatment, he’ll be taken into custody and booked into jail. Additional charges may be filed after the WPD’s investigation.Sheriff Easter said PSD Bane was taken to a safe location where a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death for proper charging. Police said a K-9 from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office died after running into the storm drain after the man.Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan and Sheriff Jeff Easter are expected to give a joint update on the situation soon. Police said officers were chasing after a man with a felony warrant when he ran and hid in a storm drain.
