CINCINNATI – A man who shot a police dog during a pursuit in 2016 was sentenced to 19 years in prison Wednesday.
Tyler Jones was shot by Springfield Township police after he wounded K-9 Pako in the shoulder and aimed his gun at officers, police said. Jones pleaded guilty to seven felony charges.
Pako recovered, returned to duty and was awarded the K-9 Valor Award by the North American Police Work Dog Association last week in a ceremony in Eureka, Missouri.
The shootings happened after police tried to stop a suspected drunk driver in Springdale at 1:45 a.m. on June 3. Police said a female passenger appeared to attempt to get out of the moving car, which was finally halted by police using stop sticks on Winton Road near West North Bend Road.
Police said Jones, 27, ran down Winton Road with Pako giving chase until he turned and fired a semiautomatic handgun. Jones was charged with four counts of felonious assault along with one count of assaulting a police dog, carrying a concealed weapon, and possession of weapons while under disability.
The female suspect was arrested but not hurt.
"When a suspect is firing shots, it’s the same as the police officers that were taking fire," Springfield Township Police Chief Robert Browder said at the time. "It’s the same thing - the dog and the human police officers. There’s no difference to me."
