By Noah Feit
The State
RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — One teenager was arrested and there’s a search for two more who are wanted following a stolen car chase that ended early Monday morning when a police dog was shot and killed, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
“The whole sheriff’s department is very sad that we lost one of our police dogs,” Sheriff Leon Lott said Monday at a news conference. “Very sad, but also very mad.”
Lott said K9 Bumi was killed, becoming the department’s third police dog to die in the line of duty this year. The department also had another police dog that survived being shot on the job, but had to medically retire, according to Lott.
“These dogs are out here protecting the community,” Lott said.
The incident began near the 7400 block of Parklane Road a little before 2:30 a.m. , when a deputy spotted a car that had been reported stolen in Columbia on Sunday, according to the sheriff. A chase followed that Lott said ended in the Greenview community after a deputy used a stop stick to deflate the stolen vehicle’s tires.
Two teenagers ran away, while a 16-year-old was stopped from getting out of the vehicle and was detained at gunpoint, according to Lott.
The K9 team of Specialist Alan Ware and his partner Bumi were among the deputies on the scene and the police dog took off after one of the teens, Lott said. Bumi, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, got out of sight and shortly after Ware and other deputies heard gunshots, according to Lott.
Ware and other deputies ran to where they heard the gunfire and found Bumi near the 100 block of Alida Street , who had been shot at least three times, according to the sheriff. While the police dog was wearing a protective vest, the bullets were able to strike Bumi in the chest, Lott said.
Although Bumi likely died at the scene, Lott said the police dog was taken to a veterinarian to see if anything could be done. There was nothing to do to save Bumi’s life, and the two teenagers, who have not been identified but are believed to be between 16-19 years old got away, according to the sheriff.
No other injuries were reported.
Ware has been with the sheriff’s department for about 3 months, and the 5-year-veteran of law enforcement has been partners with Bumi for 2 years, Lott said.
“I’m not going to call them kids, they don’t deserve that. ... They make very adult decisions, shooting at us, killing our dog, just running wild out here in the streets, doing ... anything they want to do. Absolutely no parental supervision, whatsoever,” said Lott, who then vowed the teens would be captured. “We’re going to put as many in (the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice ) as we can. ... That’s exactly where they need to be, behind the wall, behind the fence. Because there is nowhere else that we can protect our citizens except for having them locked up.”
The sheriff said it was “a miscarriage of justice,” that he couldn’t publicly identify the 16-year-old, who was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice as well as misprision and had a pickup order from DJJ, because of his age. Lott did say despite being a minor, the teen in custody has a lengthy criminal history that includes a recent incarceration in DJJ for “choking out a police officer.”
According to a ShotSpotter recording of the gunfire, five shots were fired when Bumi was hit, and 44 bullets were fired overnight in the Columbia area, Lott said. Information about the other shootings, and if there were any other arrests, was not available.
A pistol and shell casings that were fired from that gun were found, according to Lott. He said he expects ballistics to show that bullets removed from Bumi’s body will also show they were fired from the same gun.
Despite Bumi’s death and the recent loss of police dogs Kodak, a 6-year-old Dutch Shepherd , and Wick, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, the sheriff’s department continues to have at least two K9s on duty all day long, Lott said.
In June, Wick was struck and killed by a car on Interstate 77 while pursuing a man suspected of stealing a car. Months later, in October, Kodak was injured during a foot pursuit in a wooded area where the police dog got entangled in some razor wire fencing that was concealed by brush, and sustained severe lacerations to his abdomen and leg, and died days later.
In March, sheriff’s department K9 Kobe was shot while trying to subdue a 17-year-old who did not listen to commands from the deputies following a chase where shots were fired. Kobe , a 5-year-old, was shot in both of his front paws and had to retire.
“If you don’t think this is dangerous, and this is not a war zone that these young people are doing then you’re fooling yourself,” Lott said.
©2024 The State.
Visit thestate.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.