16-Year-Old Charged For Beating Police Dog To Death Following Aggravated Robbery

Mesquite Police Department Information Office shared the news of the unfortunate death of police dog Kozmo while performing its duty. Officers of the Mesquite Police Department were assisting Balch Springs Police Department in the pursuit of multiple suspects. It is believed that a 16-year-old suspect was responsible for causing the K9’s death after it was discovered deceased.

Balch Springs Police Department was trying to arrest the suspects of aggravated robbery in Texas around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, April 26. The police laid out spikes on the road between Burton Road and Interstate 635 to stop the suspects’ vehicle. After the vehicle was forced to stop, the suspects fled on foot.

To help find and arrest the suspects, the K9 unit from Mesquite Police Department joined the pursuit. Kozmo was in pursuit of the suspects. The joint police force managed to arrest the suspects. However, the police dog failed to return.

Around 4:13 a.m. the K9’s body was discovered, People reported. The body was sent for a necropsy. The result of the investigation proved that the dog had trauma consistent with an assault which likely caused its death.

For causing the death of the police dog, one of the suspects, a 16-year-old male, has been charged with interference with a police service animal (causing injury or death). He was charged with a second-degree felony on Thursday, April 29.

The police department wrote “, It should be noted that our K9s are members of the MPD family. Kozmo was an amazing and loyal dog who gave his life in the performance of his duties. We ask everyone to keep all of our officers in their thoughts and prayers as we deal with this loss.” A memorial service will be held for the brave animal.

In another similar incident, a police dog was fortunate to have been saved by the actions of his handler. Deputy Branden Donahue and his K9 Scout had a prolonged struggle with a man who had an outstanding arrest warrant.

Branden Richter was arrested by deputies of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and charged with multiple offenses for assaulting the officer and the K9. Richter had tried to choke Scout and even bit the dog’s ear during the struggle. Donahue and other responding officers managed to take control of the situation even after the suspect pulled out a gun.