Died – 5\/11\/16
\nHandler – Detective William Hernandez<\/p>\n
Duke, NYPD dog named after \u2018Escape from New York\u2019 villain, put to rest <\/p>\n
Duke was A-No. 1. The dog, a veteran NYPD canine named for a famed villain from the movie \u201cEscape from New York,\u201d was put to rest Wednesday. \u201cIt was very hard. I couldn\u2019t ask for a better partner,\u201d said Detective William Hernandez, 46, of Long Island. The 13-year-old crime-fighting German shepherd suffered from hip dysplasia and couldn\u2019t stand on his hind legs anymore, Hernandez said. About 10 cops watched as he carried Duke to a Staten Island veterinarian. The detective got paired with Duke in 2004, and named him after Isaac Hayes\u2019 imposing character from the 1981 John Carpenter film. \u201cThe Duke of New York, A-No. 1,\u201d he said, quoting the film. \u201cI was a fan of that Kurt Russell movie back in the day. … I just liked the way they announced it. \u2018Oh no, you don\u2019t want to meet the Duke.\u2019\u201d Sure enough, criminals did not want to meet this Duke of New York, Hernandez said. Duke made six arrests \u2014 including a suspect in a Staten Island pharmacy burglary \u2014 and two crooks surrendered when they heard the pooch was on his way to get them, he said. Duke, who retired in 2012, also won first place in a 2009 United States Police Canine Association competition, Hernandez said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 5\/11\/16 Handler – Detective William Hernandez Duke, NYPD dog named after \u2018Escape from New York\u2019 villain, put to rest Duke was A-No. 1. The dog, a veteran NYPD canine named for a famed villain from the movie \u201cEscape from New York,\u201d was put to rest Wednesday. \u201cIt was very hard. I couldn\u2019t ask …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ny"],"yoast_head":"\n