A law enforcement K-9 is recovering after a barricade subject shot it with a pellet gun.
On Tuesday night, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area north of Interstate 10 and Sun Valley Parkway after multiple people reported a man with a rifle and a pistol was stopping traffic with railroad ties and threatening to shoot them. Court documents would later indicate that the weapons were pellet guns.
Responding deputies contacted Harold Whistler, 61, who then went inside his home.
MCSO said he spent the next several hours exiting and entering his home while ignoring commands.
MCSO sent in its SWAT unit, which determined Mr. Whistler was holed up in a certain room of the home. They then decided to deploy K-9 Karl to apprehend Mr. Whistler.
However, MCSO said Mr. Whistler then fired three rounds from a pellet gun at K-9 Karl, striking him in the ear and mouth. The K-9 was still able to bite Mr. Whistler’s leg and hold on. As Mr. Whistler tried escaping, he allegedly struck K-9 Karl in the head with his weapon.
Deputies then took Mr. Whistler into custody and transported him to a hospital for treatment of the bite. Upon release, Mr. Whistler was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault and harming a service animal.
“Every member of the oneMCSO family is valued,” said Sheriff Paul Penzone. “We will not tolerate acts of violence against our team as they work to keep the community safe. Karl will make a full recovery and return to his duties pursuing bad guys.”