Police K-9 Wants Suspect to Throw Gun Again
He won't let anyone else near it
Police K-9 Benson caused a tense situation early Tuesday morning after he retrieved a firearm thrown from a moving vehicle, returned it to the suspect, and insisted that he throw it again.
It happened at the end of a routine K-9 unit patrol shift when a speeding vehicle failed to pull over immediately after Officer Tom Zillen activated his lights and sirens. Following a brief pursuit, the suspect finally rolled to a stop on the shoulder, but not before throwing an object through the front passenger side window and into the woods.
Officer Zillen cuffed the driver and sent Benson to track down what turned out to be a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield Plus semi-auto pistol. Unprompted, Benson leapt from the woods with the firearm in his mouth, much to the concern of both the suspect and the officer. Benson then dropped the weapon at the suspect’s feet and waited like a good boy.
“Uhh…good boy, Benson. Nice work,” Officer Zillen said, bending down to secure the weapon.
Benson growled and grabbed up the gun in his mouth again, rattling it back and forth aimed at the men’s kneecaps.
“Whoa!” “Hey!” “Whoa!” both men exclaimed, briefly united against a well-meaning enemy. Benson then returned the weapon to the suspect’s feet.
“What do we do?” the suspect asked.
“Nothing! I don’t know,” Zillen shouted. “Just shut up for a second!”
“Should you call for backup?” the suspect offered helpfully.
“NO!” blurted Zillen. “Back of the squad car with you!”
But Benson growled the moment Zillen pulled at the suspect’s arm.
“Look,” pleaded the suspect. “I just want to get safely behind bars. Just let me throw it again. Maybe we can wear him out.”
Zillen appeared to consider it for a moment before coming to his senses and reminding the suspect to shut the hell up. He then drew his service firearm and pretended to throw it deep into the woods.
Without dropping the suspect’s gun, Benson high-tailed it back into the trees, firing indiscriminately with each leap and bound. Officer Zillen and the suspect hit the dirt. When the magazine finally emptied, Zillen took Benson and the suspect into custody without further incident.
At publication time, Benson was reassigned to desk work pending an independent use-of-force investigation.
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