K9 Benzi – Columbus, Ohio

Died – 9/1/18
Handler – Officer Brian Carter

K9 officer forced to shoot K9 partner after severe biting

A Columbus K9 officer was severely bitten by his K9 partner, forcing him to shoot the dog. Columbus Police said the incident happened just before 9 a.m. Saturday. Officer Brian Carter was training with his partner Benzi at the CPD K9 office on McKinley Avenue. Benzi attacked Carter as he was correcting his behavior, per police. Carter had serious bites to his arms, forcing him to fire upon the K9. Carter was taken to Grant Medical Center and Benzi was taken to MedVet to be humanely euthanized. Benzi was a 3.5-year-old Belgian Malinois and has been serving with Columbus Police for two years. Sgt. Mark Cartwright, supervisor of the Columbus Division of Police K9 Unit, says this was the first time an officer had to shoot a K9 partner. Carter has been on CPD’s K9 unit since 2008. An investigation is underway.

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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.
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