Latest news with #NathanHill
West Australian
7 days ago
- West Australian
Nathan Hill: Burlington Police Chief's toddler brutally mauled to death by former drug sniffing dog K-9 Draco
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT A police officer has been left devastated after his toddler was brutally mauled to death by a former police dog. The three-year-old was the daughter of Nathan Hill, the police chief of a small city called Burlington which sits along the Colorado-Kansas border. His family were housing K-9 Draco, a German Shepard who formerly worked as a drug sniffing dog before he was donated to the Burlington Police Department after having been recently taken out of service. On Monday, K-9 Draco brutally attacked Officer Hill's daughter while he was not at home. Paramedics arrived at the tragic scene within minutes of an emergency call, and found the toddler alongside her devastated mother. The dog was no longer attacking the girl, and had been secured in a kennel, Fox12 Oregon reported. Despite emergency services arriving so quickly, the girl was unable to be saved and was tragically pronounced dead at the local hospital. Draco was taken to the pound and put down. He had previously worked with the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, but was taken out of service because the department ended its K-9 program. Authorities said the dog was not trained in bite work. In a statement, the Burlington Police Department said an investigation is underway, but that the attack was a 'tragic accident' and was not a 'criminal matter'. 'We want to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat to public safety,' the statement said. 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occured within the city limits of Burlington CO. Our hearts go out to Chief Nate Hill, his wife and family for the loss of their little girl, who was victim of a dog attack. 'The City of Burlington staff is a family, and our hearts are hurting for the family and those affected by this unfortunate event. 'We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office, Burlington Police Department, first responders and hospital staff for their swift and professional response. Their dedication and hard work in the face of adversity are truly commendable. 'The situation is under control, and we are committed to providing any necessary support to those impacted.' Tributes are flowing for the girl and her grieving family. 'I'm so shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Thoughts and prayers for her family and all those who responded,' one Facebook user wrote 'My heart aches for this family. I can not even begin to imagine the pain.. We are praying. And I hope God gives you the strength to get through this,' another wrote.
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Perth Now
Cop's toddler brutally mauled to death by former police dog
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT A police officer has been left devastated after his toddler was brutally mauled to death by a former police dog. The three-year-old was the daughter of Nathan Hill, the police chief of a small city called Burlington which sits along the Colorado-Kansas border. His family were housing K-9 Draco, a German Shepard who formerly worked as a drug sniffing dog before he was donated to the Burlington Police Department after having been recently taken out of service. On Monday, K-9 Draco brutally attacked Officer Hill's daughter while he was not at home. Paramedics arrived at the tragic scene within minutes of an emergency call, and found the toddler alongside her devastated mother. The dog was no longer attacking the girl, and had been secured in a kennel, Fox12 Oregon reported. Despite emergency services arriving so quickly, the girl was unable to be saved and was tragically pronounced dead at the local hospital. Draco was taken to the pound and put down. He had previously worked with the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, but was taken out of service because the department ended its K-9 program. Authorities said the dog was not trained in bite work. In a statement, the Burlington Police Department said an investigation is underway, but that the attack was a 'tragic accident' and was not a 'criminal matter'. 'We want to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat to public safety,' the statement said. 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occured within the city limits of Burlington CO. Our hearts go out to Chief Nate Hill, his wife and family for the loss of their little girl, who was victim of a dog attack. 'The City of Burlington staff is a family, and our hearts are hurting for the family and those affected by this unfortunate event. 'We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office, Burlington Police Department, first responders and hospital staff for their swift and professional response. Their dedication and hard work in the face of adversity are truly commendable. 'The situation is under control, and we are committed to providing any necessary support to those impacted.' If you'd like to view this content, please adjust your . To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide. Tributes are flowing for the girl and her grieving family. 'I'm so shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Thoughts and prayers for her family and all those who responded,' one Facebook user wrote 'My heart aches for this family. I can not even begin to imagine the pain.. We are praying. And I hope God gives you the strength to get through this,' another wrote.
7NEWS
7 days ago
- 7NEWS
Nathan Hill: Burlington Police Chief's toddler brutally mauled to death by former drug sniffing dog K-9 Draco
A police officer has been left devastated after his toddler was brutally mauled to death by a former police dog. The three-year-old was the daughter of Nathan Hill, the police chief of a small city called Burlington which sits along the Colorado-Kansas border. His family were housing K-9 Draco, a German Shepard who formerly worked as a drug sniffing dog before he was donated to the Burlington Police Department after having been recently taken out of service. On Monday, K-9 Draco brutally attacked Officer Hill's daughter while he was not at home. Paramedics arrived at the tragic scene within minutes of an emergency call, and found the toddler alongside her devastated mother. The dog was no longer attacking the girl, and had been secured in a kennel, Fox12 Oregon reported. Despite emergency services arriving so quickly, the girl was unable to be saved and was tragically pronounced dead at the local hospital. Draco was taken to the pound and put down. He had previously worked with the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, but was taken out of service because the department ended its K-9 program. Authorities said the dog was not trained in bite work. In a statement, the Burlington Police Department said an investigation is underway, but that the attack was a 'tragic accident' and was not a 'criminal matter'. 'We want to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat to public safety,' the statement said. 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occured within the city limits of Burlington CO. Our hearts go out to Chief Nate Hill, his wife and family for the loss of their little girl, who was victim of a dog attack. 'The City of Burlington staff is a family, and our hearts are hurting for the family and those affected by this unfortunate event. 'We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office, Burlington Police Department, first responders and hospital staff for their swift and professional response. Their dedication and hard work in the face of adversity are truly commendable. 'The situation is under control, and we are committed to providing any necessary support to those impacted.' Tributes are flowing for the girl and her grieving family. 'I'm so shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Thoughts and prayers for her family and all those who responded,' one Facebook user wrote 'My heart aches for this family. I can not even begin to imagine the pain.. We are praying. And I hope God gives you the strength to get through this,' another wrote. Stream free on
Daily Mirror
14-08-2025
- Daily Mirror
Police chief's daughter, 3, mauled to death by ex-drug sniffing dog at family home
A US police chief's daughter was tragically mauled to death by an ex-police K9 who was being housed at the family's property A police chief's three-year-old daughter was mauled to death in a horrific attack by a former drug sniffing dog at home. The young girl was attacked by K-9 Draco at her family's house on Monday. The child was found unresponsive by emergency services who rushed to the property within minutes of the brutal mauling in the small city of Burlington along the Colorado-Kansas border. The girl was the daughter of Burlington Police Chief Nathan Hill - but the police boss was not at home at the time of the horror attack and emergency crews found the girl by her devastated mum. The child was tragically pronounced dead at the hospital she was rushed to. The German Shepherd was not actively attacking the three-year-old when authorities arrived at the scene and had been put into a secure kennel, according to the Burlington Police Department. The animal was then taken to a local dog pound and euthanized. Draco was a single-purpose narcotics detection K-9 for the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office but had been donated to the Burlington department after he was "recently taken out of service". The Burlington sheriff was housing Draco at the time of the attack. Officials have launched a probe into the death but have not said what could have led up to the shocking attack. Sheriff Travis Beldon said the attack was out of character for the dog, who was not trained in any kind of bite work, according to 9News. Beldon said: "He's trained for detection. He's not in any way trained for patrol work, apprehension, anything that would involve biting, he's not trained for that kind of stuff. So it is very uncharacteristic for him to attack in this fashion." He added: "It's an incident that's extremely tragic. It's something that's going to be in the back of everybody's mind for a while." It is not clear how long Draco had been "out of service" but a previous post by the police department revealed the dog was used to detect drugs during traffic stops as late as June this year. The K-9, around three years old, was introduced to Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office in September 2023 after he underwent "rigorous" training out-of-state, the cop department said at the time. Officials have said they do not expect any criminal charges to be filed in this tragic case. The Burlington Police Department said: "This is a very tragic situation, affecting this community as a whole."
Daily Mail
13-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Police chief's daughter killed by former drug detection dog
A Colorado police chief's three-year-old daughter has been mauled to death by a former drug detection dog at their family home. The young girl was attacked Monday in the backyard of Chief Nathan Hill's family residence in Burlington, a small city situated along the Colorado- Kansas border. First responders arrived to the home within minutes of the attack and found the girl unresponsive in the yard alongside her frantic mother. The child was rushed to nearby Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital and later pronounced dead. Her name has not been released. The dog, identified as K-9 Draco, was not actively attacking the child by the time first responders arrived at the scene. He had been locked up in a secure kennel. Draco, a German shepherd trained as a single-purpose narcotics detection K-9 for the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, was taken to a the local pound and euthanized. Draco had been donated to the Burlington Police Department and was 'recently taken out of service' after the sheriff's office ended its K-9 program. Hill has been housing the dog at his residence and was not home at the time of the attack. Kit Carson Sheriff Travis Beldon said the attack was out of character for Draco, who has not been trained in any kind of bite work. 'He's trained for detection. He's not in any way trained for patrol work, apprehension, anything that would involve biting,' Beldon told KUSA . 'So it is very uncharacteristic for him to attack in this fashion.' Draco was introduced to the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office in September 2023 after having undergone weeks of 'rigorous' training out-of-state, the department said in a Facebook post at the time. It is unclear how long he has been inactive, but a separate Facebook post revealed he was used in a traffic stop to detect drugs as recently as June 19 this year. Beldon claims Cheyenne County officials struggled to keep a handler for Draco, who is approximately three years old now. The sheriff described the K-9's active status as having been 'off and on recently'. Kit Carson Sheriff's Office has not said what may have led up to the attack, but notes the incident remains under investigation. Officials do not expect any criminal charges to be filed in the case. 'The City of Burlington staff is a family, and our hearts are hurting for the family and those affected by this unfortunate event,' Burlington police said in a statement. 'We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office, Burlington Police Department, first responders and hospital staff for their swift and professional response. Their dedication and hard work in the face of adversity are truly commendable.' Hill was appointed Burlington Police Chief in January 2021, after serving as the force's interim chief since May 2020. He replaced Chief Barry Romans who retired from the position in November 2019 citing personal reasons, The Burlington Record reported. 'It is an honor and a privilege to have been selected as the City of Burlington's next chief of police,' Hill said at the time of his appointment. He hailed Burlington as a 'great community to live and work in' and claimed the police department 'sincerely appreciates Burlington's citizens'. Hill was officially appointed chief by city council after he completed a leadership training course and 'passed with flying colors'. At the time, he was pursuing a college degree in criminal justice and had just finished establishing a network of police chiefs in the region. Beldon says the tight-knit Burlington community is grieving the loss of Hill's daughter. 'It's an incident that's extremely tragic. You know it will affect this community for a little bit,' he told the news outlet. 'It's something that's gonna be in the back of everybody's mind for a while.' Hill and his wife are also understood to share a son. It is unclear how old he is.
