K9 Hudson – Geneva, Illinois

Died 5/24/23

Offender dead, K-9 officer killed in the line of duty after ‘exchange of gunfire’ in Geneva

An offender is dead and a K-9 officer was killed in the line of duty in suburban Geneva Wednesday afternoon. At about 1:57 p.m., Kane County Sheriff’s deputies received information about a carjacking that occurred in Aurora. During the investigation, a sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle in question in the area of Randall Road and Silver Glen in South Elgin.
A traffic stop of the vehicle was attempted, but the vehicle refused to stop and deputies initiated a pursuit. According to preliminary information, the vehicle that was carjacked, a gray Honda Accord, fled from police throughout central and northern parts of Kane County before the pursuit ended with the offending vehicle being stopped by Kane County deputies at Randall and Fabyan Parkway.Once at Randall and Fabyan Parkway, Matt Jurewicz says a deputy rammed into the suspect’s vehicle. “Whatever deputy was behind the wheel who crashed into the offender, he was the one who stopped him. It didn’t seem like this guy had any intention or cared about anyone’s lives but his,” said Jurewicz. The offender driving the vehicle had fled from other officers from various agencies in the days prior, the sheriff’s office said. When deputies stopped the Honda Accord, a K-9 officer, Hudson, was deployed to subdue the offender as he displayed a weapon toward deputies. An exchange of gunfire occurred and K-9 Hudson and the offender were struck. “I just saw the police surround him at which point I heard a number of gunshots,” Jurewicz said.Hudson died from his injuries and the suspect was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Hudson was named after an Illinois State Trooper who was killed in the line of duty a few years ago. Hudson has been with the force for about six or seven years, mainly working in narcotics, the sheriff’s office said. “You don’t expect an animal helping out to be shot”, one resident said. Three deputies were also transported to an area hospital to be checked out. The offender’s name is not known, however, the sheriff’s office said he was a male offender. The Kane County Major Crimes Task Force and other assisting agencies continue to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.