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Died – 10/19/15
Handler – Officer John Cunningham
LPD K9 Koa has died following being hit by a vehicle
The Lander Police Department announced today that explosives K9 Koa has died after being struck by a vehicle reportedly during a training exercise about a week ago. According to LPD, Koa unexpectedly ran beneath the tire of her handler’s vehicle on Oct. 11 during a training exercise. LPD states that this was a routine exercise, and nothing new to either Koa or the handler, John Cunningham. Koa was receiving treatment at a facility in Colorado since the incident. She reportedly developed complications over the week, including a drug-resistant bacteria in her lungs, pneumonia, and during surgery on her damaged hips, further pre-incident degeneration was found. On Friday evening, it was determined that Koa could not recover, and she was put down. Koa is technically owned by the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security and had thousands of dollars worth of training. It is unknown at this time whether or not Koa will be replaced. In that story, LPD Chief Bob Cecrle said he was looking into the incident without an outside agency. Meanwhile, LPD’s other K9, Kai, is still recovering from injuries after allegedly running into a tree during a separate training incident several weeks ago. Kai is expected to return her drug-sniffing duties, but it is unknown when that will occur.
