CJ122
08-10-2000, 09:16 PM
Dateline: Miami, FL - 7/24/00
Miami Herald
BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA
Atlas, a rookie police dog who had been sniffing down wanted criminals on Miami's streets for the last three months, died early Sunday after being shot in the stomach by a suspected carjacker, police said.
Wayne Cooper, Atlas' human partner, escaped injury when the suspect also fired on him, officers said.
The golden-haired Belgian Malinois with a fuzzy black face died shortly after midnight at the Knowles Animal Hospital. He was 2 1/2 years old.
Police arrested his suspected killer -- David Manuel Soto, 22, of 2110 NW 63rd St. -- and charged him with felonious killing of a police work dog, attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, armed carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
``He could easily spend his life behind bars if he is convicted of all of this,'' said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for Miami Police.
Cooper, 36, who together with Atlas joined the department's canine unit just three months ago, was said to be ``distraught'' over the loss of his first canine partner.
He wasn't the only one.
Sgt. Ben Damico, a supervisor on duty Sunday, said other officers were also mourning the loss -- and edgy over Cooper's close brush with danger.
``They are upset. Certainly, if the dog takes the bullet, he takes it instead of the police officer,'' Damico said. ``He gave his life for the officer.''
Cooper and Atlas cracked their last case together in the pre-dawn darkness Sunday after catching sight of a black and orange two-door Chevrolet with fancy rims that had been reported stolen at 11:45 p.m. during a carjacking.
The owner of the Chevrolet had been filling up his gas tank at a Miami Amoco station when a man carrying a handgun walked up and said: ``Let me have your car, or I'll kill you,'' police said.
As the K-9 team closed in on the stolen vehicle near Jackson High School, the driver jumped out and fled. Cooper and Atlas followed in hot pursuit through the school's playing field.
The police report filed after the incident details what happened next:
``The defendant pulled out a black Smith and Wesson revolver, shot one round at the K-9 Atlas, striking the dog in the underside of the belly, causing a fatal wound. The defendant then spent an additional round, firing his weapon at Officer Cooper, but the bullet missed.''
Soto, a laborer who has a tattoo of a pit bull on his upper right arm, has previously been arrested on charges of grand theft auto, unlawful driving as a habitual traffic offender and petty larceny, a public records check revealed.
A memorial service for Atlas is planned for Wednesday morning at Miami's Bayfront Park.
Miami Herald
BY SANDRA MARQUEZ GARCIA
Atlas, a rookie police dog who had been sniffing down wanted criminals on Miami's streets for the last three months, died early Sunday after being shot in the stomach by a suspected carjacker, police said.
Wayne Cooper, Atlas' human partner, escaped injury when the suspect also fired on him, officers said.
The golden-haired Belgian Malinois with a fuzzy black face died shortly after midnight at the Knowles Animal Hospital. He was 2 1/2 years old.
Police arrested his suspected killer -- David Manuel Soto, 22, of 2110 NW 63rd St. -- and charged him with felonious killing of a police work dog, attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, armed carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
``He could easily spend his life behind bars if he is convicted of all of this,'' said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for Miami Police.
Cooper, 36, who together with Atlas joined the department's canine unit just three months ago, was said to be ``distraught'' over the loss of his first canine partner.
He wasn't the only one.
Sgt. Ben Damico, a supervisor on duty Sunday, said other officers were also mourning the loss -- and edgy over Cooper's close brush with danger.
``They are upset. Certainly, if the dog takes the bullet, he takes it instead of the police officer,'' Damico said. ``He gave his life for the officer.''
Cooper and Atlas cracked their last case together in the pre-dawn darkness Sunday after catching sight of a black and orange two-door Chevrolet with fancy rims that had been reported stolen at 11:45 p.m. during a carjacking.
The owner of the Chevrolet had been filling up his gas tank at a Miami Amoco station when a man carrying a handgun walked up and said: ``Let me have your car, or I'll kill you,'' police said.
As the K-9 team closed in on the stolen vehicle near Jackson High School, the driver jumped out and fled. Cooper and Atlas followed in hot pursuit through the school's playing field.
The police report filed after the incident details what happened next:
``The defendant pulled out a black Smith and Wesson revolver, shot one round at the K-9 Atlas, striking the dog in the underside of the belly, causing a fatal wound. The defendant then spent an additional round, firing his weapon at Officer Cooper, but the bullet missed.''
Soto, a laborer who has a tattoo of a pit bull on his upper right arm, has previously been arrested on charges of grand theft auto, unlawful driving as a habitual traffic offender and petty larceny, a public records check revealed.
A memorial service for Atlas is planned for Wednesday morning at Miami's Bayfront Park.