By Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The newest member of the Pensacola police department is being credited with saving the lives of several police officers and an armed suspect.
His reward?
“Steak dinner for Officer Foster! Then maybe a long tummy rub,” a Facebook follower of the police department suggested in a congratulatory post.
That new “deputy” in the north Florida department is K-9 Foster, an 18-month-old German Shepherd that snatched a loaded shotgun out of the hands of an armed burglary suspect on Thursday, Pensacola police said.
Police say Oliver Hurst, 36, went across the street from his home to a girlfriend’s house and forced his way inside her front door armed with a shotgun. He allegedly threatened the woman with the gun before retreating back to his residence.
Officers found Hurst on his front porch. He refused orders to surrender and ran back into his house.
Officers, wearing body cameras, chased Hurst inside and saw him grab a shotgun from a couch.
In the surveillance video, lit mostly by flashlights and some table lamps inside the home, officers can be heard shouting, “Drop the gun,” five times before a final, “Drop it!” and “Taze him!”
That’s right at the time K-9 Foster latches onto the shotgun, pulls it from Hurst’s hands and takes the weapon into another room as officers make the arrest.
“Because of the quick actions of K-9 Foster, the suspect was not able to fire the shotgun at police, and the officers did not have to use deadly force on Hurst,” Pensacola police posted on their Facebook page and in a report.
Hurst was charged with armed burglary, aggravated assault, battery, criminal mischief, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and booked into Escambia County Jail on a total bond of $142,000.
He was released Friday night after making bail.
K-9 Foster is one of two dogs who recently joined the department.
“K-9 Foster and K-9 Nashoba were both purchased from generous donations made by Pensacola residents Dana and Lisa Foster,” the Pensacola PD posted on its Facebook page, along with the body camera video.
“Congrats. That dog needs extra Scooby snacks,” a Facebook follower posted.
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