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Died 3/29/23
Handler – deputy David Fisher
K-9 officer Murphy has died
The Racine County Sheriff Office’s K-9 officer Murphy died on March 31 after suffering an unexpected medical emergency while at home.Murphy was joined by his partner, deputy David Fisher, and family at the time of his death. He was put down humanely with euthanasia, according to a release from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office.Born in Hungary in 2012, the Belgian Malinois was paired with Deputy Fisher in 2013, and they underwent training at the Southern Police Canine facility in North Carolina. After graduating from a six-week training course, the pair began their work protecting the community on overnight shifts.According to the Racine County Sheriff’s Office, Murphy was a dual-purpose dog certified in narcotic detection, evidence and article search, building search, tracking, handler protection and criminal apprehension.Officials said during Murphy’s career, he and Deputy Fisher had more than 2,500 training hours with nearly 600 career deployments.Fisher and Murphy also assisted the Racine Sheriff’s Metro Drug Unit in serving search warrants.The sheriff’s office said they were a productive partnership that aided in recovering weapons, seizing a wide range of narcotics and arresting dangerous criminals. They also helped build community relations and did drug checks at schools and detention facilities.Deputy Fisher had planned to retire with K-9 Murphy at the end of the year. Deputy Fisher looked forward to spending time with K-9 Murphy at his cabin up north.“While I am saddened over the loss of K-9 Murphy, I hope Deputy Fisher takes comfort in the tremendous service he and K-9 Murphy provided to the community,” Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said in a statement. “Their teamwork, training, and dedication took guns, drugs, and thugs off the streets – there is no way to measure the number of lives they saved. K-9 Murphy lived a very full life. Thank you for your service, and you will be missed.”In addition to Murphy’s death, the Sheriff’s Office retired K-9 Friday last month and K-9 Nitro in October of 2022.The Sheriff’s K-9 program is solely funded through community contributions.
