2 days ago
3-year-old girl killed by former police dog in backyard attack, Colorado cops say
A 3-year-old girl died after being attacked by a former police dog in her family's backyard, Colorado authorities reported.
Sheriff Travis Belden and a deputy responding to a 911 report of a dog attack in Burlington found the girl in the yard and the dog secured in a kennel on Monday, Aug. 11, the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
The girl was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, deputies said.
The girl was the daughter of the town's police chief, the Burlington Police Department said in a news release.
The dog was a former narcotics K-9 with the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office that was donated to Burlington police when the office closed down its K-9 program, deputies said.
The dog, which was being kept by the police chief, was not on active duty, deputies said. It was euthanized by animal control officers after the attack at his home.
'He's trained for detection. He's not in any way trained for patrol work, apprehension, anything that would involve biting... So it is very uncharacteristic for him to attack in this fashion,' Belden told KUSA.
The dog, a German shepherd named Draco, had been with the sheriff's office since 2023, Belden told the station. The Burlington Police Department does not currently have a police dog program.
The incident remains under investigation, deputies said.
'The city of Burlington staff is a family, and our hearts are hurting for the family and those affected by this unfortunate event,' police said in the news release.
Burlington is about a 170-mile drive southeast from Denver.
