HollyMatkinSan Diego, CA – A San Diego Police Department (SDPD) K9 officer was brutally stabbed while he assisted in the apprehension of a knife-wielding man on Monday, police said.
SDPD officers and K9 Dexter, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, responded to a 911 call at approximately 8:30 a.m., after a woman reported that she was having difficulty controlling her 22-year-old son, Rogelio Carreon, KGTV reported.
The woman said that Carreon was behaving threateningly as he stood on the front porch, clutching a kitchen knife.
Officers arrived to find Carreon’s mother out in the street, sweeping up glass. She explained that her son had broken a picture frame, and that he told her he was going to fight the police.
There were children inside the home, KGTV reported.
Carreon then emerged from the residence, armed with a 7-inch kitchen knife, CDPD Lieutenant Charles Lara said.
Officers repeatedly ordered Carreon to drop the weapon, but he refused, leading to an hour-long standoff.
Police eventually fired four beanbag rounds at the man, and released K9 Dexter, who grabbed ahold of Carreon’s left arm.
Carreon repeatedly stabbed K9 Dexter while resisting arrest, but the K9 officer didn’t let go and the suspect was ultimately apprehended.
After the attack, K9 Dexter’s intestines were hanging from his gaping stab wounds, but his vital organs were not harmed, Lt. Lara said.
He was rushed for emergency medical treatment, where veterinary personnel determined that he also suffered broken ribs and a lacerated spleen.
K9 Dexter underwent surgery, and is expected to make a “good recovery,” a SDPD K9 Officer Larry Adair told KGTV.
Officer Adair said that his own K9 partner was stabbed several years ago.
“It’s a very close relationship,” he said. “And I can’t tell you how awful it is to see your partner, your friend, your pal, your best friend, stabbed. Wounded. It’s horrible.”
K9 Dexter has been with the department for 14 months, KGTV reported.
Carreon was arrested on multiple counts, to include felony assault of a police dog.