In Loving
Memory of
K-9 ISMAR
January 30, 2000
Handler: Officer James
Swanson
Leesville Police Department
Police Dept. canine
Killed in the line of duty
Belgium Malinois,
age 2 -
Leesville Daily Leader
Several
people gathered to mourn the death of Leesville Police Department
canine, Ismar, at a Wednesday memorial service. Chief of Police Bobby
Hickman delivered the history of the K-9 to the audience. K-9 units from
the Louisiana State Police, Alexandria and New Llano police departments,
Rapides, Sabine, LaSalle and Vernon Parish Sheriff's Departments, Fort
Polk Military Police, and officers from Rosepine, Anacoco and other
departments joined the lineup at the burial site. Officers placed small
white roses on the casket of their "fallen comrade" as the Swanson
family looked on. Ismar was killed in the line of duty during at the
standoff .
LEESVILLE, LA
Officers today will
bury a police dog shot and killed this weekend during an operation to
arrest a man whom police say held his daughter and her mother captive
with a handgun. Leesville police said they responded to an emergency
call Sunday evening in this small western Louisiana town and found that
56-year-old Douglas Mayo was holding his 26-year-old daughter and his
73-year-old wife at gunpoint in a house in western Leesville. Police
said they persuaded Mayo to release his captives after about a
45-minute standoff, but authorities still could not convince him to
surrender. When five officers and their K-9, 2-year-old Ismar, a male
Belgian Malinois, stormed into the house, Mayo allegedly shot Ismar in
the face, killing the police pooch before officers could arrest him. "He
was an integral part of the department and will be greatly
missed by fellow
officers," Chief Bobby Hickman, who heads the 30-officer police force,
said in a written statement. Memorial service The officers and the women
were not hurt. Mayo was injured, but not seriously, police said. Police
said the 3 p.m. memorial service today for Ismar at the Leesville
Municipal Golf Course was to be followed by a burial ceremony. The
department expected officers from throughout Louisiana to attend. The
dog, which cost the department about $10,000, had been with the police
department for about four months. He had been trained to detect drugs,
search buildings and catch suspects. Mayo, who is being held on $34,500
bond, has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping,
injuring and killing a police animal, weapons possession and aggravated
assault on a police officer, police said. He was to be transferred to
the Vernon Parish Jail this morning and could not be reached for
comment. Suspect had acted 'crazy' Lt. Dale Miller, a Leesville police
executive officer, said a neighbor across the street who is related to
Mayo called 911 before 6:30 p.m. Sunday after apparently seeing or
hearing some kind of turmoil at Mayo's house. The 26-year-old woman at
the house later told police that her father, Douglas Mayo, had been
walking around the house armed with a handgun, acting "crazy" toward her
and her mother. Mayo allegedly did not allow the women -- whose names
the police did not release -- to leave the house. Miller said he did not
know exactly why Mayo had gotten angry. "He has a history of violence
and violent behavior. He had an extensive criminal record," Miller
said. "Some of it included battery on police officers, things like that
... He has a criminal history that extends back to California." Police
also said Mayo had several guns in the house, including one believed to
be similar to an AK-47. Allegedly taunted officers. The department said
that officers who responded to the 911 alarm tried to call Mayo, but he
grew angrier with each phone call. The two could not be reached for
comment. Meanwhile, Mayo extended the standoff and stood in the doorway
taunting the officers "to come in and do business," police said. The
chief said in his statement that the police tried cutting off the
electricity, hoping the lack of heat would drive out the gunman. A
high-pressure water hose from a fire truck failed to dislodge Mayo, as
did pepper gas thrown into the house. Officers storm house. Miller said
a forced entry team including him, Ismar, his handler, Officer James
Swanson, and three other officers stormed the house. "We all went into
the room together. The dog was in the lead," Miller recalled. The dog,
used because he could search for Mayo by scent, found the alleged
gunman in the living room about 20 feet from the door, the executive
officer said. Police said Mayo shot the canine in the face with a
shotgun. He then fired at the officers and missed. Four of the officers
returned fire, hitting Mayo once. Police would not say where. Mayo
tried to flee, but finally surrendered. "At our second request for him
to show his hands, he did so, after being hit," said Miller. "[Officers]
pulled him down to the floor; he was handcuffed and brought outside."
The department would not authorize interviews with other officers who
had been at the scene. "I certainly consider [Ismar] a great loss and
it'll be hard to replace, [in] more ways than one," Miller said.
Officer
Swanson & Isar
Thanks Chaplain
David Stewart & everyone who helped organize the out pouring of calls
and correspondence for Officer Swanson.
Officer Swanson continues to serve faithfully in Law Enforcement in
California |
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Memorials
to Fallen K-9s