SAGINAW, Mich. — Michigan police fatally shot a 48-year-old man Sunday who stabbed a K-9 in the head, officials said.
Saginaw police responded to a neighbor’s call about a disturbance around 8 a.m., MLive reported.
The dispute quickly escalated and Deebo, a 5-year-old German shepherd trained for tracking and narcotics searches, was stabbed in the head with a knife, WSGW reported.
“(Officers responded to) neighbor trouble, which eventually evolved into a domestic situation that evolved into a hostage situation,” Saginaw Police Chief Bob Ruth told MLive. “One of our K-9s, which essentially to me is a K-9 police officer, Deebo, was injured.”
Officers fatally shot the man after he refused to put down the knife, WSGW reported. They are on paid leave while the incident is investigated.
Deebo was taken to a veterinarian and is expected to survive. The officers were not injured.
“We would like everybody to give your thoughts and prayers to Deebo so that he has hopefully a good, safe recovery in the future from his injuries,” Ruth told MLive.
Officers were able to rescue the hostage, a man.
Officers had been called to the area in the past. The nature of those calls was not released.
Deebo has been on the force three years, WSGW reported. He is one of the department’s five K-9s.
“Deebo is there to protect the officers,” Ruth told MLive. “Deebo ends up getting injured just like an officer. Any time somebody is injured gravely like that, with a knife put in your head, it’s a pretty grave incident."