K-9 returns to work after being stabbed during robbery call

By Caroline Zimmerman
The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Shawnee police dog that was stabbed in Kansas City, Kansas, Aug. 5 is back to work after nearly a month of recovery.

Dagger, a K9 police dog with the Shawnee Police Department, returned to full duty Tuesday after he was stabbed while responding to an aggravated robbery call on Aug. 5.

Officer T.J. Tomasic, a spokesperson for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, said Kansas City, Kansas, police officers responded to the 900 block of Riverview Avenue after receiving a call about a disturbance.

At the scene, a witness told officers a family member had returned to a residence after an assault with a knife earlier in the evening. When officers approached, the man barricaded himself in a home.

Dagger, with the Shawnee Police Department, was brought to the scene to assist. When officers went into the home to arrest the man, the K9 was stabbed.

Edwin Perez, 26, eventually surrendered to law enforcement. He is charged with aggravated battery, interference with law enforcement and harming a police dog, according to Wyandotte County court records.

The Star’s Nathan Pilling contributed to this report.

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