COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County deputies are searching for a suspect they say triggered a series of events that ended in the death of one of their K9 officers.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says K9 Wick and his handler K9 Specialist Zaid Abdullah were tracking a stolen vehicle early Thursday morning on I-77 near Columbia when tragedy struck and Wick was hit by oncoming traffic.
"These dogs are not just a dog. This is something very important to us, something that's very valuable," Lott said. "The work that they do, can't be measured. They save lives.”
“The incident started actually with van being stolen out of the City of Columbia on the 19th, yesterday, during lunchtime," Lott said. "This was a work van that workers working in a location took a lunch break, left the keys and location they were working in. A man went in, got the keys and stole the van. We believe that same individual is who our deputies observed last night driving the van.”
The van was then seen traveling near Windsor Lake Boulevard and Brookfield Road around 1 a.m.
Sannie Williams lives in the neighborhood and heard some of the commotion.
“I heard but I was laying in the bed. Why am I gonna get up from my bed because I hear that all the time,” he said.
Deputies attempted to stop the suspect but they say he refused to stop, starting the chase. It went down Decker Boulevard and onto I-77 for a little over 10 miles. Deputies were able to stop the vehicle using stop sticks.
K9 Wick's handler got out to follow him, and that’s when something went terribly wrong.
“These dogs are very strong they have a very hard drive. They pull hard and as we jumped over that barrier and hitting the ground, he gave a hard pull and the leash then came apart," Lott said. "Wick continued to chase the suspect. When he entered the interstate traffic lane, he was hit by a car. He was killed instantly."
The suspect escaped but the sheriff's department says multiple agencies are working to find him.
“I can tell you right now, the community is up in arms about this, like they should be," Lott said. "The community understands what these dogs do for its community and how valuable they are for the safety of people live in Richland County.”
In Thursday afternoon's press conference, Lott said his officers did nothing wrong and said the leash breaking was just a ‘perfect storm’ that led to it breaking. Now, he says he’s focused on helping his department, including Wick’s handler, heal.
"This is the third K9 that has been killed recently. It impacts all of us that wear this uniform and carry a badge," Lott said.