PARK CITY, UTAH — The Park City Police Department released dash camera video showing the moment a K-9 jumped over the barrier on an overpass and fell to the freeway below.
The Sept. 15 incident occurred when officers were called to inspect a suspicious object on an overpass. A person called 911 to report what looked like “a battery with wires around it” on the right shoulder of the overpass.
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Law enforcement responded and closed the roadway. A Park City explosives detection K-9 team was called to assist.
Dash camera video shows K-9 Bruno and his handler arriving at the scene. The officer brought Bruno out of the vehicle while they remained on level ground and let him off the leash while he spoke with first responders already on scene.
The video release states that it is standard practice for K-9 officers to let the dogs off leash so that they can familiarize themselves with the area.
After the officer is briefed by law enforcement on scene, he brings Bruno back into the vehicle and drives up the overpass to investigate the suspicious object.
The officer approached the object and again let Bruno off the leash to investigate.
Bruno can be seen walking toward the object before looking back and abruptly making a turn to jump over the bridge barrier.
The handler officer called for a life flight before rushing down to Bruno and lying beside him.
Bruno was transported by ambulance to a landing zone, where he was placed in a medical helicopter and transported to an emergency care vet. He was treated for two broken legs and an injured jaw.
Bruno is now recovering at home. A POST investigation found that the handler officer deployed Bruno in a manner consistent with standard K-9 tactics.
A Utah Highway Patrol K-9 team did not alert to the suspicious object, which turned out to be a broken car battery.
