Recently, LAPD Officers responded to an “ADW in progress” near 70th and Figueroa. When the officers attempted to render aid to the victim, the suspect fled. The officers set a one-block perimeter around the armed suspect and requested K9 personnel to search.

K9-9 Schwab was the primary handler. K9 deployed two search teams into the perimeter. Schwab and his team systematically searched the perimeter.

K9 Iggy (pictured here) located the suspect who had been hiding in a tactically difficult position at a house within the contained area. The suspect struck Iggy with a metal tool. Iggy was not deterred. Iggy bravely re-engaged. Iggy alerted the team as to the suspects location. Then, the suspect was safely and effectively taken into custody.

Subsequently, K9 Tessa located the weapon the suspect had attempted to secrete.

This incident demonstrates why K9s are an invaluable tool for the Los Angeles Police Department. In this case, an armed felon desperate to evade capture, hid in a difficult to access location. The police K9 found the suspect and alerted the search team while the team maintained a tactically superior position. This effort was successfully employed so that the suspect had the opportunity to safely surrender and mitigate the need to escalate to higher levels of force.