memorial2001

Memorials to Fallen K-9s

2003 page 1 The F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of cards to all partners I need your help to inform me of such losses.

Dept. addresses available for those who want to send condolences to officers. See below

In Loving Memory of K-9 URK January 18, 2003 LODD

Partner: Deputy Daniel Settle San Diego Sheriff's Department Sheriff's Communications Center -5555 Overland Avenue, Building 19 San Diego, CA 92123-1219 -Non Emergency: (858) 565-5200 858.204.7486 C.S.
Chris Saunders,

By Mark Arner 619-542.4556 Union Tribune Staff Writer - February 1, 2003

An Explorer scout wounded Saturday in a gunfight in which a police dog was killed was shot by a deputy returning fire, authorities said yesterday. Initial reports from sheriff's officials that the 20 year old scout, Brent Tracy, was shot by the man who fired on the squad car near a Vista intersection were wrong. "This is the kind of incident, with shattering glass and smoke in the air, that became very chaotic and the situation unfolded in a matter of a very few seconds," sheriff's Capt. John Tenwolde said. "The deputy was engaged in nothing less than a desperate, life-and-death struggle." He said Tracy was shot as he crawled on the street during the exchange of shots. Doctors operated on Tracy's upper right elbow. He returned home this week. In Superior Court yesterday, Robert Quintero, the man accused of starting the shootout, stood in a green jumpsuit used to identify potentially violent inmates and pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder, one count of injuring a police dog and assault with a deadly weapon. Judge Daniel Goldstein set bail for Quintero, 33, of Vista, at $5.1 million. Quintero's defense lawyer said outside the court that his client was depressed over a failed relationship with his girlfriend and his inability to visit a 7 year old daughter who lives in Arizona. "That night, it just came to a head," said lawyer Michael C. Earle. Tracy, the scout, was on a "ridealong" with Deputy Daniel Settle, 33, and a police dog named Urk when they responded to a call of shots fired near Hacienda Drive and Melrose Avenue about 2:20 a.m., authorities said. Settle got out of his patrol car and began scanning the area with a spotlight, looking for the shooter, Tenwolde said, when shotgun pellets almost immediately shattered the car's windshield. Tracy "dropped in his seat," causing Settle to believe Tracy had been hit by a pellet, Tenwolde said.

Urk's memorial ceremonies will be as follows: Date and Time: 01-31-03 @ 1500 Hrs. Location: Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive Vista, California 92084 Contact: Deputy James Cady, or Sergeant Burt Quick @ (858) 565-3253

cards mailed 1/22/03 to Chris Saunders
Update: October 24, 2003

VISTA - A Vista man who fired a shotgun at a sheriff's deputy, caused the injury of a 20-year-old ride-along and killed a police dog will spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled yesterday. A Superior Court Judge Marguerite Wagner sentenced Robert Quintero, 34, to three consecutive life terms for shooting at a patrol vehicle in January. A jury found him guilty of attempted murder and other charges Aug. 27.

Prosecutors said Quintero fired six times at Deputy Dan Settle's parked patrol car Jan. 18 before he ran north across state Route 78 near Melrose Drive and escaped into a residential area. He was captured at his home the next morning. One shot went through the front window of the patrol car and fatally wounded Settle's canine partner, a 5-year-old German shepherd named Urk, who was in the back seat. Settle made a tearful statement to the judge, noting how close he and Explorer scout Brenton Tracy came to death on the night of the shooting. "The only reason that I am before you today is because Robert Quintero missed," Settle said. "Unfortunately, Robert Quintero is before you today because I too missed." Settle then addressed his remarks to Urk, calling the dog a "true hero" who tried to pursue Quintero even after being shot through the heart. "I am sorry that I was not by your side as you took your last breath," Settle said. "I have never met another human partner that would go unarmed into that kind of dangerous scenario to protect others. "It is for that reason that your loss is such a great one." Tracy, now 21, also testified yesterday. He was hit in the elbow by one of Settle's bullets that ricocheted off the ground when the deputy returned fire at Quintero. "Today my arm works all right," Tracy said, adding that he's had two surgeries on his arm. He said the emotional impact of that night hasn't gone away. "Every day I have to relive what happened on the night of Jan. 18," he said. "Sometimes it's like a videotape playing over and over and over." Quintero apologized to Settle and Tracy and called them both brave men. He said he acted out of character that night, adding that he was depressed because he had just broken up with his girlfriend. "I'm a peaceful, easygoing person," Quintero said. "Anyone who knows me would tell you the same thing. I'm respectful and more than courteous to even the baddest of men." In a rambling speech, he told the judge he accepted responsibility for his actions but maintained that he never intended to kill anyone, only to scare them. But the judge said Quintero never appeared to show remorse during the trial.

During this time, Settle lost sight of the shooter and saw someone he couldn't identify. He later learned it was Tracy, crawling toward him from underneath the patrol car. "He thought it was Quintero advancing toward him and fired three shots" from his department issued .40 caliber Glock, Tenwolde said. One of those shots struck Tracy in the elbow. "This was a very unfortunate aspect of a very complicated and chaotic, deadly scenario," Tenwolde said. Urk, a 5 year old German shepherd, was shot and killed by Quintero, said prosecutor Steven Carver. Sheriff's deputies and police officers clamped down on the neighborhood near
west Vista Way after the shooting, closing off roads and searching for nearly 24 hours. Quintero surrendered peacefully when deputies found him inside a nearby home early Sunday. After his arrest, Quintero told deputies where he had buried the shotgun and ammunition, said Earle, the defense lawyer. Settle is on paid administrative leave and will return to work when he is ready, Tenwolde said. In two earlier cases, Quintero has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest, vandalism and lewd conduct and was sentenced to probation, said Carver. Quintero also had an arrest warrant in another case in which he is accused of beating up a man who told his girlfriend about his lewd-conduct conviction. "There's a pattern," Carver told the judge. "A pattern of violent conduct, violence toward police officers."

North County staff writer Kenneth Ma at (760) 761-4408

More than 200 people and two dozen police dogs gathered Friday afternoon to honor Urk, a sheriff's canine that was killed earlier this month in the line of duty while trying to protect his deputy handler and an Explorer Scout during a shoot-out in Vista. Uniformed officers from several law enforcement agencies and the military filled Moonlight Amphitheater at Brengle Terrace Park for the service that began shortly after 3 p.m. Against a warm afternoon sun, they recounted stories about the 5-year-old German shepherd's heroics during the more than 3 1/2 years he spent with his handler, sheriff's Deputy Daniel Settle.

Waldo Nilo/Staff Photographer Around 200 people gathered at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista on Friday for a Sheriff's Department memorial service for Urk, a police dog shot in the line of duty on Jan 18. The German shepherd police dog was shot and killed during a shootout between its deputy handler and a suspect. "He's always protected us," Settle said during a press conference before the service. "I feel it is the same kind of loss as if it was a human partner." Sheriff's officials praised Urk as the department's top dog and said he had been prolific in making arrests and recovering evidence and property. The canine had apprehended 33 suspects, assisted in 230 arrests and participated in 1,302 searches in buildings and the field. Urk has assisted other deputies in apprehending suspects 1,203 times. "Saving cops' lives was one of Urk's specialties," San Marcos sheriff's Deputy Jim Cady said. The dog was the second canine in the Sheriff's Department to die in the line of duty. Another German shepherd was stabbed to death more than 20 years ago. Urk, who worked and lived with Settle, was gunned down while out on patrol Jan. 18 with the deputy and Explorer Brenton Tracy, 20. The dog was not wearing a bullet-proof vest when Settle stopped his patrol car on Hacienda Drive to investigate suspicious activity. When Settle got out the vehicle, a gun battle began between himself and 33-year-old Robert Quintero of Vista. During the exchange, Quintero allegedly shot Urk while the dog was still in the vehicle. "He still made it a couple of yards after he was shot," sheriff's spokesman Chris Saunders said. Settle said the canine used his last breath trying to protect him. "He did what he was trained to do," Settle said. Meanwhile, in the exchange of gunfire, Tracy was shot in the elbow by Settle. The explorer, who spent several days in the hospital, said the shooting will not discourage him from pursuing a law enforcement career. Quintero is being held at the Vista Detention Facility in lieu of $5.13 million on eight felony charges, including attempted murder on a peace officer and assault on a police animal resulting in death. He has pleaded not guilty and his next court appearance is on Feb. 20. The gun battle was not the first time Urk was attacked in the line of duty. He had been kicked, punched, and had his eyelids torn off, Settle said. A suspect once tossed him 6 1/2 feet off the ground. At Friday's service, deputies honored their fallen hero with a helicopter flyover and other law enforcement canines stood with their handlers in the front the stage. Settle was presented with a statue of Urk that will be officially memorialized at a sheriff's museum in San Diego and at a canine law enforcement memorial at UC Davis. Settle, who says he has spent more time with Urk than his family, has received a new partner. On Friday, the deputy welcomed Hunter, a German shepherd from Denmark.

By Onell R. Soto

UNION-TRIBUNE - June 26, 2003 - CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune Man accused of firing on patrol car, wounding Explorer, killing dog Sheriff's Deputy Jennifer Smith escorts Robert Quintero into court for his preliminary hearing. He was ordered to stand trial. VISTA - A sheriff's deputy testified yesterday he feared the worst when a man with a shotgun opened fire on his patrol car earlier this year. A 20-year-old sheriff's Explorer was in the passenger seat when the windshield shattered early Jan. 18, Deputy Dan Settle said. "The way he fell over, I thought he was dead immediately," Settle said. He said he fired back, protected the young man with his body and then sprinted after the gunman, who escaped after running across state Route 78 near Melrose Drive in Vista. Explorer Brent Tracy was wounded in the elbow in the cross-fire. But Settle's canine partner, a 5-year-old German shepherd named Urk, was killed by one of the assailant's 12-gauge slugs. Yesterday in Superior Court, Robert Quintero, 34, of Vista was ordered to stand trial Aug. 14 on attempted murder and other charges. If convicted, he faces life in prison, prosecutor Steven Carver said. Quintero led investigators to the shotgun after his arrest Jan. 19, said sheriff's Detective Christopher Serritella. "I'm pretty much screwed," Quintero said when asked where the shotgun was, the detective testified. "I'm going to go ahead and tell you." Investigators found a trail of shotgun shells leading from Quintero's 1991 Ford Explorer across the freeway, Serritella testified. A case containing 79 shells was found in the Ford, and a fanny pack in bushes near his home contained about 50 shells, he said. Defense lawyer Michael Earle doesn't dispute Quintero fired the shots, but he said in an interview yesterday the case doesn't amount to attempted murder. He said Quintero was despondent over a relationship and shot a tree in a canyon, shots to which Settle was responding. Earle said it's unclear whether Settle's patrol car was occupied when Quintero fired the first shot. Tracy testified he was exiting the car when he heard the first shot. He said he got back in and slouched under the dashboard for cover. During the volley of gunfire, he said he felt a burning sensation in his forehead. Doctors later recovered a piece of metal an expert said probably came from ammunition. Tracy got out again and was crawling on the ground alongside the patrol car when one of the bullets fired by Settle accidentally hit him, authorities said. Settle said that after the initial round of gunfire, he opened Urk's door by remote control and chased Quintero, who jumped a fence and ran across eastbound freeway lanes before shooting again from the median. Quintero then ran across westbound lanes and jumped over another fence, Settle said. When he returned to his patrol car, Urk was lying on the street. "He was dead," Settle said.

In Loving Memory of K-9 CIRO January 16, 2003

Partner: Corrections Officer Eric Filler Meyerstown, PA. Lebanon County Prison 730 E Walnut St. Lebanon PA 17042 phone 717-274.5451

Former K-9 officer bids dog farewell Tuesday, January 21, 2003 BY TOM BOWMAN The Patriot-News - 717-272.3759 x 11 To some people, Ciro was just a 10-year-old German shepherd who died Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003. To former Lebanon County Prison corrections officer Eric Filler of Myerstown, Ciro was his partner. "I don't know anybody in this world who would give their life for me," Filler said. "But I know that dog would have." Filler worked 13 years at the prison, the last three as K-9 officer with Ciro as his drug dog and partner. Ciro lived

with Filler and his wife, Karen, and daughter, Hannah, in their Myerstown apartment. When it was time to go to work, "I'd start putting my uniform on in the morning and that dog would just gear right up," Eric Filler said. "He'd run back and forth to the door. I'd open up the door, tell him to get in the truck. He'd run." The Lebanon County Drug Task Force bought Ciro for drug searches throughout the county and in the prison. Ciro patrolled all of the prison except the kitchen. "It was so weird. I didn't know how he distinguished a prisoner from a correctional officer, but as soon as he'd see an inmate, he'd go nuts," Eric Filler said. "He'd start barking and carrying on. I'd physically have to calm him down. Give him his command to calm down. It was just uncanny." A.W. Castle III of Mechanicsburg trained Ciro and Filler. Ciro was born in Germany and trained in the Czech language. So Eric Filler had to give him commands in Czech. Ciro loved to demonstrate his drug search skills for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and at crime prevention exhibits in area fire houses. "His eyes would brighten up. His tail would start going. His ears straight up in the air and his eyes as round as could be," said Karen Filler. "He was so excited. And he was ready to go." On Jan. 1, 2000, Eric Filler quit his prison job and paid a token $1 to the county for Ciro, who retired that day. Then Eric Filler took a job installing Coca-Cola machines. "The first couple of months, it bugged him to see Eric go to work, he didn't understand," Karen Filler said. "But after that, you were lucky if you could even wake him up in the morning. He was a total retired dog. All he wanted to do was play." In recent months, Ciro's problems with his hips, present since birth, got worse. He was in pain much of the day. Karen Filler gave Ciro buffered aspirin to kill the pain so he could jump up on the couch. Thursday, Eric Filler and daughter Hannah came home to find Ciro dead. He was cremated. Eric Filler is keeping the dog's ashes. "It was a godsend," Karen Filler said. "He was in pain. He was getting old. And we didn't have to make that decision to put him down."

thank you Tom for the photo.

cards mailed 1/28/03 ?

In Loving Memory of K-9 RADEK January 24, 2003 LODD

Partner: Officer Frank Holland Norwalk Police Department CT Norwalk Department of Police Service 297 West Avenue Norwalk, Connecticut 06850 203-854-3000 info@norwalkpd.com

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR K-9 RADEK Monday 2/3/03 at 12PM Eagles Club Norwalk Police Department 297 West Avenue Norwalk, CT A reception will follow

cards mailed 1/28/03 - recd. card to honor Tessa from Frank. So much appreciated......T.Y.

K-9 Radek killed on 1/24/03 at 0145 hours on Allen Road In the early morning hours of January 24, 2003 PSD Radek of the Norwalk, CT Police Department was struck and killed by a passing motor vehicle while checking the perimeter of a building whose burglary alarm had been activated. Radek was a 17 month old German shepherd dog, who had only been in service two months prior to his death. He was credited for two narcotic seizures in his short tenure. The most notable was a find of 30 bags of marijuana hidden in a concealed compartment of a motor vehicle. His premature death has devastated his handler Patrol Officer Frank Holland and his family. "Radek was perfect fit in my family, he loved my children as much as he loved to go work and play," " He was a beautiful animal, words cannot describe the degree of heart break we are experiencing right now." Radek will be greatly missed as the flags fly at half mast in front of the Norwalk Police Department.

Officers Mourn Police Dog At Memorial Service Norwalk Police Dog Dies In Line Of Duty NBC 30 Connecticut News A 17-month-old German shepherd, a member of the Police Department's K-9 unit killed while on duty, has been honored with a memorial service. Police officers from as far away as Florida gathered for the memorial service at Norwalk Police Department headquarters Monday. The police officers wore black bands across their badges signifying that they are in a period of mourning. The service was in honor of Radek, a member of the department's K-9 Unit for just two months before he was struck and killed by a car Jan. 25. The dog was killed while he and his partner/handler, Frank Holland, were responding to a burglar alarm at the Norwalk Senior Center complex. Officers from West Hartford, Stratford, Greenwich, Bethel, New Milford, Westport and Massachusetts attended the service. Several of the officers brought their own K-9 partners with them. The Rev. David Howell, police chaplain, delivered the invocation, praising the canines in service. "We thank you, Lord, for the love that our police dogs give us," Howell said. During Radek's time with the Police Department, he is credited with two narcotics seizures.

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