Elizabethton, Tenn.—An Elizabethton K-9 officer was stabbed Saturday afternoon; its wounds so bad, the dog needed to be put down.
According to the Carter County Sheriff’s Department report, a group of sixteen year old boys stabbed the Elizabethton Police dog, Yoris.
The three boys told deputies they were attacked by the dog while playing a shooting game called “air soft,“ which uses rifle-like air-guns, and light pearl-sized pellets.
A viewer e-mailed 11 Connects saying that her son was the boy who stabbed the dog. He told her the dog first jumped up as if he wanted to play, but then became aggressive, biting him and two other friends. He used a knife to get the dog off his friend, accidentally stabbing his friend in the chaotic fight.
A witness, David Ward, told the responding sheriff’s deputy a different story. He said when he first saw the interaction, the dog did not appear aggressive. Ward said he watched the teenagers strike and kick the dog.
Elizabethton Police confirmed that Yoris’ partner and caretaker, Officer Shane Darling, was in Florida over the weekend. After the incident, the officer’s wife told the responding sheriff’s deputy that the dog was not in his kennel.
Elizabethton Police Standard Operation Procedures for Police Canine Operations state: “The canine handler shall have immediate control of his or her canine at all times when on or off leash, either at home or any other location.“ Handlers “will be held responsible for the control of their canines on and off duty.“
Since the police dog was involved in the incident, local police called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A TBI spokesperson said there is no investigation filed at this time. Elizabethton Police Chief Matt Bailey says he spoke with the District Attorney, and a TBI agent has been assigned to the investigation. Both the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and the Elizabethton Police Department declined to comment until the investigation is conducted.
Prayers sent for the fallen K-9 officer. 
for those who haven’t had the privilege of working around police dogs…sure they are trained to bite but they are so disciplined that they know when it is ok and that is under very strict and specific circumstances. ive never known one to bite unprovoked.
ditto on the prayers
Needs more detail.
I dont like loose, unleashed dogs. They need to be leashed or locked up at all times, not running around free on property the handler doesn’t own
I regard all dogs running around, not directly regulated by a handler, as wild and dangerous
Second that. I am not going to be running a background check on a dog if it attacks me. I can see it now: “Sit fiddo, sit… Are you a dog owned by the state? Yes, well then, bite away.”
I don’t know if I fully agree with that…I run my dog off leash in violation of my city’s leash ordinance literally every single day, usually in the company of five to ten SWAT officers who do their morning workout in the same place, and if I go in the afternoon then I’m sometimes within sight of K9 officers doing their thing. The police here generally have actual crime to attend to. Then again I know many of the officers from my volunteer work, and I’m in control of my extraordinarily gentle dog…so maybe I’m getting a pass, but I don’t believe so.
I don’t like to see people running dogs off leash that are not obedient or are aggressive in the slightest, and I hate to see dogs of any sort that are simply “let out.” This case sounds like the dog was simply let out, or kept in a kennel that was not dog proof…that’s not acceptable dog ownership by anyone, much less a police dog. Any dog that has ever bitten a human(well trained or not,) should be kept under extraordinarily tight control. Still, if the report is true that they were kicking the dog, then I’m happy one of them was accidentally stabbed as well.
“Air soft.” lol
I am shocked - shocked!
So you wouldn’t have any hard feeling if a bigger dog on a leash killed your dog when it came over to sniff it’s ass?
I have very gentle dogs as well, but extremely dog aggressive. If some ones dog came over to either of them I can pretty much guarantee the dog would be killed if I can’t break it up.
Not to mention it puts me at risk having to break up a dog fight, and yes this has happened in the past. If you’re not in a confined place, and your dog isn’t working at the time, keep it on a leash. If not don’t bitch when it ends up dead and you end up with a lawsuit.
Its still an animal which means they are unpredictable. If it was running around lost maybe it was stressed out…maybe the kids as the “witness” says hit the dog like some sadistic punks.
I would be crushed, but certainly no blame could be placed on the other party. Fortunately I have enough control over my dog that he comes when I call him…I do not let him get near people or dogs that I don’t know.
Perhaps I should state that I’m fortunate that the park I frequent is very large and the area I use is really quite far from roads, walking trails, homes, and stray dogs. Any time I can’t be sure of what other dogs/people are around, my dog stays leashed.
I’ve been bitten by a mastiff who was trying to attack my dog while I was walking it on leash in another part of the city. If I hadn’t been able to break it up I would have killed it…I’m happy that I did not have to.
I believe in personal responsibility. If after five years of life, my dog sprouts a second personality and attacks someone or their dog, I’ll accept a lawsuit.
I occasionally drank alcohol as a minor too.:eek: Actually I’m not sure if you’re just kidding me or if you think I’m the type to flaunt laws(I’m not…well with the exception of one city ordinance.)
looks like satan’s butt fungus needs to adjust something…
Another story with a little more information: K9 Yoris dies after attack by juveniles
An Elizabethton Police Department K9 reportedly died this weekend following an alleged attack.
The Saturday afternoon incident began around 3 p.m. along Sunrise Drive in the Hunter community. Details leading up to the death of K9 Yoris are sketchy, with differing witness statements.
Carter County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Brian Durham was called to investigate a report of juveniles shooting a dog. While en route, Durham received another report that a juvenile had been attacked by a dog.
On arrival, Durham observed a male subject in the field along Sunrise Drive. The subject, identified as David Ward, stated that the dog was alive but lying in the field bleeding and appeared to be suffering.
The officer then found the three 16-year-old dog bite victims. One juvenile was transported to Sycamore Shoals Hospital by the Carter County Rescue Squad due to his injuries. Two other juveniles, who were also bitten, contacted their parents and were advised to go to the emergency room as well. One of the boys suffered bites to his lower back, spine and buttocks. One boy also was reportedly stabbed accidentally by the others during the incident.
One of the juveniles told Durham “that he and his friends were playing air soft in the empty field when the dog came up and started attacking them.”
The first individual said when he saw the dog start biting his two friends, he ran over to help. He added that they stabbed the dog several times in an attempt to get away.
Durham said that as he was returning to his cruiser, he was flagged down by a female, whom he identified as Amy Darling. She told the officer that her husband’s dog was not in his kennel. The dog, which had stab wounds, was identified as K9 Officer Yoris, an Elizabethton Police Department K9 handled by Officer Shane Darling.
Ward said he witnessed the incident from his home. “I was looking out the back door and saw three individuals huddled around a German Shepherd,” Ward said. “At first, it looked like they were playing.”
Ward said he got a pair of binoculars to get a better view. The individuals then began to beat the dog with an air soft gun. At that time, he called 911. “It fell to the ground and they started to kick it,” Ward said.
Ward said one of the individuals then walked away from the scene with bloody arms. After all of the individuals left the field, Ward went outside to check on the dog. “The dog was alive at that time, but he was lying in the field in a pool of blood,” he added.
The witness said that the dog did not appear to be aggressive. “This is very unusual for this neighborhood,” he said.
Elizabethton and county K9 officers arrived on scene and transported the dog to an emergency veterinarian. EPD Chief Matt Bailey said due to the extent of his injuries, Yoris was euthanized on Sunday.
Representatives with the EPD and CCSD said the case has been turned over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. However, on Monday afternoon, TBI Public Information Officer Kristin Helm said, “Actually, as of today, the District Attorney General has not requested TBI to open a criminal case file. As new information becomes available that may change, but right now we’re not investigating.”
Officer Shane Darling was in Florida this weekend during the incident. He has described Yoris as a sociable, friendly dog but that he knows there is a difference when it is time to work. He added. “Obedience is key. Obedience is the corner of everything we do. He is a very obedient dog.”
Darling also said that at home, Yoris was part of the family.
Yoris, a four-year-old Belgian malinois, joined the city police department in June of 2008. He was the first K9 the department had in six years and cost $10,500, paid for through the city’s drug fund. A second K9 joined the force on Jan. 15. K9 Kero works with his partner Sarah Ellison.
“Obedience is key. Obedience is the corner of everything we do. He is a very obedient dog.”
But without a handler the dog is on it’s own; in which case it is the dog’s own personality will come out. With that said I can imagine that the kids did shoot the dog etc… this may have then led to the dogs aggressive behavior to come out thus attacking the kids. Witnesses seem to be after the kids were already attacked.
In the end though it should fall under the responsibility of the owner. The dog, K9 dog, pet dog, or whatever dog shouldn’t have been able to get out. I know shit happens but if the dog was properly secured this would not have happened.
I want to know exactly what type of knife was used.
Just a pocket knife one of these kids happened to be carrying? Or was it an SOG SEAL Pup he was carrying while playing airsoft so he could re-enact COD4’s dog attack scenes?
I’m in full agreement that the dog shouldn’t have been freely roaming without an owner, but I disagree with the sentiment that some have posted that ANY dog sans leash and/or owner is an immediate threat…
That’s the kind of thing a cat owner would say.
I’ve own (and have owned several other) Schutzhund German Shepards. They ARE NOT the type of dogs thats should EVER be off the leash WITHOUT the handler being present. PERIOD. Totally irresponsible. These are big, scary looking dogs. People are petrified when they see these dogs. Whomever was responsible for this animal in the handlers absence should be held responsible for the dogs death…not some young boy out playing with his friends.:rolleyes:
It sounds like we are missing some information here. I find it hard to believe a well trained police dog would randomly attack a group of kids.
On an unrelated note airsoft is gay.
I wonder if airsoft being involved affected the situation? Are K9s taught to respond to seeing guns?
im pretty sure they respond to seeing a weapon
Yes, K-9 are sometimes taught to agress at the sight of a weapon weilded by an individual other than it’s handler. However, most initial training has moved away from this. During gunfire training a dog is really only taught to accept the sound of gunfire and not agress toward it. Some dogs are better at this than others. There are dogs that will agress toward the weapon, the individual firing(even if it is their handler) or even anyone in the immediate area.
While the dog getting loose is completely the fault of the handler, more information is needed as [i]most [i] trained working dogs will not agress without some form of provocation.
The scenario i see as most likely is that 3 16 year old kids see a big dog running around in the field and think that it would be really funny to shoot said dog. The dog, taking offense to this, decides he thinks it would be funny to chew on a few idiots. Chaos ensues. Is this what happened? I dont know, but I was 16 once and did quite a few stupid things myself, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility in this case. Either way, damn shame. RIP Friend.