A police chief’s K-9 dog killed his young daughter in the back yard of their home while he was away.
The German Shepherd named Draco was in a kennel and ‘not actively attacking’ when deputies responded to a call for a child being assaulted by a dog at the home in Burlington, Colorado, according to the Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Travis Belden and a deputy found the three-year-old girl unresponsive, and her mother, in the yard on Monday.
The toddler was rushed to Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital.
‘Despite best efforts by medical staff the child was eventually declared deceased,’ stated the sheriff’s office.
‘This is a very tragic situation, affecting this community as a whole.’
Burlington police Chief Nate Hill was keeping Draco at his home after Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office ended its K-9 program and donated him to the city’s force.
‘We our deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred within the city limits of Burlington, CO,’ stated the Burlington Police Department.
‘Our hearts go out to Chief Nate Hill, his wife and family for the loss of their little girl, who was victim of a dog attack.’
Draco was taken to the Burlington Dog Pound and ‘humanely euthanized’, according to the Kit Carson sheriff’s office.
He had served as a narcotics detection dog.
‘The dog was not trained in any kind of bite work to include protection or apprehension,’ said the Kit Carson sheriff’s office.
Draco was not in service at the time of the attack.
The incident is under investigation. The police department also said it was ‘a tragic accident and not a criminal matter’.
A Facebook post by the Cheyenne sheriff’s office indicated that Draco was deployed in a traffic stop on June 19 ‘to conduct a free air sniff, resulting in a positive alert on the vehicle indicative of the presence of controlled substances’.
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