Former K-9 Kills 3-Year-Old Daughter of Police Chief in Deadly Attack By KC Baker

The 3-year-old daughter of a Colorado police chief was killed in an attack by a former K-9 her family was caring for, according to authorities.

On Monday, Aug. 11, deputies responded to a 911 call in Kit Carson about a child who had been attacked by a dog, according to a press release from the Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Travis Belden and Deputy Darrin Newberry arrived on scene a minute later and found an unresponsive 3-year-old and her mother in the back of the residence, according to the release.

By then, the dog, a German Shepherd, had been secured in a kennel. 

EMS rushed the child to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The dog was taken to the Burlington Dog Pound, where it was later euthanized.

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According to the Kit Carson Sheriff’s Office, the dog was used as a narcotics detection dog with the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office.

The dog was recently taken out of service when the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office ended its K-9 program.

“The dog was not trained in any kind of bite work to include protection or apprehension,” the release says.

Cheyenne County donated the dog to the Burlington Police Department, but the dog was not actively in service, according to the release.

Burlington Police Chief Nathan Hill was housing the dog at his residence at this time, it says.

“This is a very tragic situation, affecting the community as a whole,” the department said in the release.

Authorities are continuing to investigate.