In
Loving Memory of
K9 FARGO
December 9, 2011
 
Handler:
Master Deputy Warren Cavanagh
Richland County Sheriff’s Office
5623 Two Notch Road
Columbia, SC 29223-7218
TEL (803) 576-3000
Police dog killed in
attack
Man Hunt continues for
suspect
Master Deputy Warren
Cavanagh and K-9 partner Fargo. Fargo
was shot and killed in an incident with
a robbery suspect .
Richland County Sheriff’s deputies
continue to look for the suspect they
say shot at their deputies and killed
one of their dogs in an early morning
attempted robbery and police chase in
North Columbia. The dog was hit three
times and died at an emergency
veterinarian's office. Deputies
responded to a robbery in progress at
Johnson’s market, at 5200 Monticello
Road, around 2:30 a.m. Friday, according
to Richland County Sheriff’s Department
spokesman Chris Cowan. The community
market is about one mile from I-20, near
Ridgewood Park.
In an attempt to rob the market, the
suspect had fired shots at an employee
of the store. Officers were minutes away
when that happened, Cowan said.
Sheriff’s deputies spotted the suspect
leaving the scene and began chasing him
on foot. “The suspect was apprehended by
one of our canines, but the suspect
opened fire on the dog and the deputy
and ... hit the canine multiple times,”
Cowan said. The dog, a Belgian Malinois
named Fargo, was handled by Master
Deputy Warren Cavanagh.
Cavanagh was uninjured but Fargo, who
was hit in his upper body, was fatally
wounded. Fargo was not wearing a vest,
Cowan said, but the dog may have
sustained a fatal wound in an area where
a vest would not have covered. “The vets
are trying to make a determination (of
where Fargo was hit),” Cowan said.
Unlike sheriff’s deputies who ride with
their vests and gear on, Cowan said it
is not uncommon for police dogs to ride
in patrol cars without wearing vests.
“They are riding in the back of a
vehicle in a very confined space,” Cowan
said.
“They can be in there for 12 hours or
more so it would not be practical. But
this was (also) a rapid deployment
situation. Deputies were literally
seconds away. Cavanagh and Fargo were on
the scene within minutes. Perhaps
seconds.” Deputies returned the
suspect’s fire, but the suspect broke
free and the chase continued. Deputies,
Columbia police and the Highway Patrol
are continuing to look for the suspect,
described as a black male, 5 feet 8
inches tall, weighing 140 to 150 pounds.
He has a mustache, Cowan said, and was
wearing blue jeans, a black shirt and a
camouflage jacket.
Six Richland 1 schools in the area were
delayed from opening for two hours.
Cowan said the deputy, who came to the
department in 2006 from the office of
the Inspector General with the state
Department of Juvenile Justice, was
trying to handle the death of his dog
but “needed time." This is a very
difficult time for everyone,” Cowan
said. “The canines are a part of the
sheriff’s family. We feel that they are
deputies. They go on patrol ... 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
They are out there making are
communities safe. They interact with
kids in schools and others in the
community, so they’re a very integral
part of the success of our department.”
Fargo was part of a team of 15 dogs,
each with its own handler.
submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir.
CPWDA
MORE:
Deputy on slain K9 partner: ‘It’s
been rough’
By MINDY LUCAS - mlucas@thestate.com
By MINDY LUCAS The State E-Mail
It’s still hard for Richland County
Deputy Warren Cavanagh to talk about
losing his best friend.
But he opened up Friday for the first
time since his K9 partner, Fargo, was
shot and killed during an early morning
armed robbery last month in north
Columbia. “It’s been rough,” he
during an interview at Sheriff’s
Department headquarters. “I wouldn’t
wish it on my worst enemy.”
Today's news video
Cavanagh, a six-year veteran of the
department, seemed at times stoic and
reflective but at others fought to
regain his composure as he talked about
the Belgian Malinois police dog.
“He’s your best friend that knows what
you’re saying before you say it,” he
said. “He knows what you’re doing before
you do it.” Though Cavanagh would
not go into detail about the incident,
he did talk about the moment when he
realized Fargo had been shot.
“(The suspect) was about 30 to 40 meters
away from me,” he said. “I had to call
him (Fargo) off ... It’s not like he
laid down.”
Cavanagh said he then saw blood in the
dog’s mouth and thought he’d “gotten
some of the bad guy.” That’s when he
realized, his partner of five years, had
been shot. Cavanagh, who took the dog to
the veterinarian’s office himself, said
it was there that he had his final
moments with Fargo. “I did not say
goodbye because saying goodbye means
you’re never going to see him again,” he
said. “So I said, ‘I’ll see you later.’”
Following a nine-hour manhunt, a
suspect, Maurice Antwon McCreary, 21,
was arrested, accused of laying in wait
for and shooting at deputies. McCreary
has been charged with the unlawful
killing of a police dog, five counts of
attempted murder and two counts of armed
robbery. It is the first time Richland
County Sheriff Leon Lott, who has been
with the department for 37 years, could
recall one of their police dogs being
shot and killed in the line of duty.
Cavanagh said he was surprised “but
grateful” by the overwhelming show of
support from the community — from those
who had met Cavanagh and Fargo at
demonstrations at community events to
complete strangers in far away places
who had only heard of Fargo’s demise.
Since the announcement of the canine’s
death, the Sheriff’s Department has
received thousands of letters and tens
of thousands of dollars in
contributions, Lott said. “This is
part of the healing process for him,”
Lott said. “This is something he needed
to do.” There is more good
news for the department.
A new K9 is expected to arrive next
week, joining Richland County’s force of
11 other dogs.
And, Lott said, Cavanagh will be his new
partner.
RCSD posted this video honoring
Fargo: http://www.youtube.com/embed/a7j4v9rWzwo
Read more here:
http://www.thestate.com/2012/01/06/2103700/deputy-talks-about-slain-police.html#storylink=cpy
MORE:
Fargo and
Cavanagh
Some people
say "It's
just a dog."
But the law
enforcement
officers
sitting in a
Richland
County
Courtroom
Monday know
that's not
true. He
was their
partner,
their
teammate,
their
friend. And
although
they've had
two years to
deal with
the loss of
Richland
County
Sheriff's
Department
K-9 officer
Fargo, they
still fought
back tears
of grief.
"With me
here is my
extended
family,"
said Deputy
Oxendine,
who was with
Fargo and
his partner,
Deputy
Warren
Cavanagh the
night he was
killed.
"Deputy
Cavanagh
lost more
than a
colleague, a
friend that
night. I've
seen that
dog
do
some amazing
things."
Prosecutors say
after Oxendine
helped Fargo get
over a fence
while chasing
24-year-old
Maurice Anton
McCreary, he
tore his ACL
climbing over
the same fence.
Oxendine's voice
broke as he
fought back
tears while
asking Judge
Robert Hood to
consider the
loss of Fargo
while sentencing
McCreary.
McCreary pleaded
guilty to five
counts of
attempted murder
and the unlawful
killing of a
police dog
Monday.
Prosecutors
agreed to drop
an armed robbery
charge and
another
attempted murder
charge against
him. McCreary
was arrested in
December of 2011
after an armed
robbery in North
Columbia.
As he ran from
Richland County
Sheriff's
deputies,
McCreary
admitted he
fired several
shots at
officers and
shot and killed
K-9 officer
Fargo.
Prosecutors said
at the hearing
the search for
McCreary was one
of the biggest
manhunts in
county history.
Sheriff Leon
Lott was among
the dozen
deputies who
attended the
hearing. They
asked Hood to
send a message
to others that
there are severe
consequences for
shooting at a
law enforcement
officer. "He
tried to kill
them," said Lott
of McCreary.
"Fargo saved
every one of
them (the
officers).
They're here
today because of
Fargo. He cared
about every one
of them."
"I feel like K-9
Fargo was a hero
that night,"
said a Columbia
Police Officer
who was also at
the scene the
night of the
chase. "Without
him, it could
have been one of
us." "Fargo was
part of our
family,"
Cavanagh told
the judge.
"Fargo did what
he was trained
to do. He made
the ultimate
sacrifice so all
of these
officers could
go home to their
families." "I
panicked. I was
scared. I
freaked out a
little. I
accept full
responsibility,"
said McCreary as
he apologized to
Hood and the
officers in the
courtroom. "It
was never my
intention to
take another
life." "This has
affected how
some officers
performed their
duties moving
forward," said
prosecuting
attorney Dan
Goldman. "The
job is getting
more and more
dangerous every
day," said
another
prosecutor.
After accepting
McCreary's plea,
Hood sentenced
him to 35 years.
McCreary faced
30 years for
each attempted
murder charge,
which could have
been ordered to
run
sequentially.
update: 2014
A man who killed a police K-9 pleaded guilty on Monday. In Richland County Circuit court, Maurice McCreary, 24, admitted shooting at officers and their K-9, Fargo, during a 2011 shootout. McCreary pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful killing of a police dog. As part of his plea deal, McCreary’s armed robbery and attempted murder charges were dropped. Without the deal, McCreary would have been faced with the possibility of serving life in prison without parole. McCreary was sentenced to 35 years in jail. Judge Robert Hood gave the maximum 30-year sentence for each attempted murder charge as well as the maximum five-year charge for killing a police animal. The judge decided that the attempted murder charges would be served concurrently, however, and the sentence for killing a police dog would follow. In 2011, McCreary robbed a person a gunpoint. After Pollice were called to find him, McCreary initiated a manhunt and shot at officers a couple of times. When Fargo located McCreary hiding and held on, McCreary fired his gun and hit Fargo twice. Fargo was then rushed to the hospital, though he didn't make it The State notes that the manhunt continued and in the end, included more than 200 officers and took nine hours. McCreary was eventually found asleep in a shed.
In Loving Memory of
K9 FELIX
2011
Handler: Officer Brian McLaughlin
Scituate Police Department
604 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy
Scituate, MA 02066
Non-Emergency (781) 545-1212 - Fax (781)
545-9659
Scituate
Police say their patrol and narcotics detection dog,
K9 Felix, used in Scituate and around the South
Shore, died this week. Felix, a Czechoslovakian
Shepherd was with the department for five years and
was considered one of their own. He had a spot on
the department’s roster, and even an email address
listed on the department’s website. In a statement
on the department’s website:
“Felix
honorably served the Town of Scituate and
surrounding communities for over five years with
distinction as a member of the Scituate Police
Department.”
Felix
was 12 months old back in 2006, which is when he
began training with his handler, K9 Officer Brian
McLaughlin. Felix was born in 2005. The future of
the Scituate K9 program was not immediately known.
Kingston and Duxbury have K9 units. Rockland also
has a unit, but the K9 officer is out on
administrative leave. submitted by Jim
Cortina, Dir. CPWDA
In Loving
Memory of
K9 FANTOM
June 4, 2011
Handler: Deputy
Kyle Hall
Eagle County
Sheriff's Office
0885 E
Chambers Ave.
P.O. Box 359
Eagle, CO 81631
PH:970-328-8500 -Fax: 970-328-1448
Eagle. Co.
police dog who tracked "Dumb and Dumber" bandits has died
A police
dog credited with nabbing robbers and getting pounds of drugs
off the street during his career died Saturday at age 13, the
Eagle County Sheriff's Office said. Fantom retired in 2010 due
to a neurological condition, the Sheriff's Office said. The dog
had been living with its handler, Eagle County Sheriff's Deputy
Kyle Hall. "Fantom was an integral part of a number of cases,"
the Sheriff's Office said, including helping to track the "Dumb
and Dumber" band robbers to a Vail chairlift in 2005 and once
finding 16 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop. "Fantom
was a proud police K9 to the end," the Sheriff's Office said,
"and the Eagle County Sheriff's Office is thankful for his
service."
submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA
|
Memorials
to Fallen K-9s 