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Died – 1/29/22
Handler – Officer Joel Fann
Truly one of a kind… K9 Deputy Rigley dies
On Feb. 1, Joel Fann celebrated his 10th year with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. It was a bittersweet celebration, as the patrol sergeant mourned the recent loss of a family member and partner. Before moving to patrol division, Fann served as a K9 handler – and for nearly four years – Rigley was his right hand. While speaking pragmatically, Fann said losing Rigley was losing a family member. “When you’re a K9 handler, you put in your head they’re a tool. Rigley was a fully-trained tool,” he said. “He apprehended people. He would go into buildings just before us. “His job was to manage the dangers before us.” In addition to going on manhunts for the LCSO, Rigley and Fann were also called out to assist on drug busts, and were called to assist on traffic stops by other departments to perform “open-air” searches. Fann said K9 units like Rigley are important to every community, regardless of the cost. “We’ve gotten so many drugs off the streets. We were nailing it,” he said. “It seemed like multiple times in a single shift, whether it be us, or assisting other agencies. “People don’t realize how important law enforcement canines are to the community. They’re an important tool.” Despite all of the busts and drugs taken off the street, what made Rigley different, according to Fann, was his kindness and affability, especially around children. “He was a family member and a member of the community. He was also sociable,” Fann said. “He would bark at the car, because he was protective of the car – and that was his job – but if I let him out of the car to meet with the public, he was the sweetest dog.“There wasn’t another dog like him.” Unfortunately, while tracking a suspect last month, Rigley didn’t seem like his old self and laid down during the search. Fann knew something was terribly wrong, and took the dog to see a veterinarian. “The support I’ve gotten from the Sheriff’s Office through this has been amazing,” he said. “I brought (Rigley) to the (University of Missouri’s) Vet Clinic, because he was slower than usual.” Blood work was taken, and it was abnormal. As time went on, Rigley developed breathing problems, and Fann returned to the clinic. This time, the news wasn’t promising. Emergency surgery was needing to save Rigley immediately, but due to multiple organ failure, it would only delay the inevitable by a few days. On Jan. 29, Fann had to make the difficult choice to say goodbye to his partner and family member.“(The vet) was really nice, but I could tell (the news) wasn’t good,” Fann said. “The support I was given was amazing (during the process). They told me what I needed to do, I could decided to do. “I knew it was about quality of life, so it was a tough decision to put (Rigley) down.” Which is what makes Rigley’s final apprehension likely his most amazing, because he was likely suffering from those symptoms back then. On Oct. 29, Amy Sue Lovelace led Elsberry police officers on a wild chase before crashing her SUV into a tree and a mobile home. Lovelace then barricaded herself inside her vehicle before igniting a small industrial blowtorch, and injured an officer who tried to pull her out of the vehicle with it. Fann and Rigley were called to the scene. Though she attempted to burn him with the torch, Rigley was able to extract Lovelace from the vehicle. “After (Lovelace) tried to burn him – and us – he still did his job. It didn’t faze him,” Fann said. “Seeing this girl trying to harm him didn’t bother him.” Fann said he lost a more than a dog, he lost a partner, a friend and a family member. He said when he and Rigley went on shifts – and they were a man short – he knew he would be fine, because he had Rigley watching his back. “The county lost a good one” Fann said. “We’ve gotten so many drugs off the street. “That was one less opportunity for someone to get addicted, or someone to get hurt, because we found who we were looking for.
