LOS ANGELES — The decision ended the best way no handler ever expects.
Jack, a Belgian Malinois with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division Particular Enforcement Bureau, was killed during a standoff with a barricaded suspect in Gardena. It occurred in December 2022, however for Deputy Stephen Williams, the loss nonetheless sits shut, KABC reports.
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Jack stayed within the battle, Williams mentioned — lengthy sufficient for deputies to guard themselves.
Within the aftermath, one actuality stood out: Jack wasn’t carrying ballistic safety. Not as a result of his handler didn’t need it, however as a result of the choices obtainable on the time usually slowed canines down or restricted their motion throughout high-risk operations, in accordance with KABC.
That hole caught the eye of Jon Becker, CEO of Aardvark Tactical, a La Verne-based firm identified for designing protecting gear for first responders. Becker had spent his profession centered on outfitting human officers, however Jack’s demise pushed him to assume in a different way.
Defending Ok-9s, Becker realized, required a wholly new method.
What began as a dialog with Williams about loss and classes discovered was a yearlong growth course of aimed toward fixing one particular drawback: learn how to defend the areas the place police canines are most frequently injured — the higher chest and neck — with out compromising pace or agility, KABC stories.
These issues turned much more private when Williams’ subsequent companion, Ok-9 Child, was shot throughout one other line-of-duty incident. Child survived, thanks partly to a ballistic vest he was carrying, however the incident bolstered how rather more could possibly be completed.
From there, Becker and his workforce started working instantly with Ok-9 handlers, gathering suggestions from roughly 30 items, together with LASD’s Particular Enforcement Bureau. Designs have been examined, adjusted and examined once more, with handlers weighing in on all the pieces from match to flexibility.
The ultimate result’s a modular ballistic vest that features an non-compulsory protecting collar — gear that may be added or eliminated primarily based on the menace stage of a mission.
For Williams, the development goes past gear enhancements.
“It’s similar to some other companion we’ve,” he mentioned. “My canine, Jack, gave his life to guard us, and it’s powerful to lose a canine.”
The vest’s rollout comes as companies throughout Southern California mourn the latest lack of Burbank Police K-9 Spike, one other reminder of the dangers working Ok-9s face alongside their handlers.
Every vest produced by Aardvark Tactical carries Jack’s identify and end-of-watch date — a quiet tribute etched into gear designed to assist stop different handlers from experiencing the identical loss.
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