City and county law enforcement memorialized K-9 deputy Chucky on Monday. The 5-year-old Belgian Malinois was shot and killed by a suspect who led the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department on a multi-county car chase on Jan. 25.
A horse drawn carriage bearing Chucky’s cremated remains was led by a pipe & drum procession along a path lined with dozens of officers and their K9 units.
At a service at San Antonio’s Community Bible Church, Chucky was remembered as a “four legged hero.”
Kevin Rasmussen, Chucky’s handler and owner for two years, described Chucky as “intense,” who ran “100 miles an hour every day.”
He enjoyed training with the dog. “Chucky and I would go out there, and Chucky’s just so excited to find the bad guy that I’ve come out as a bloody mess because of the branches Chucky’s pulling me through,” Rasmussen said. “Then I get home, and my wife’s like, ‘training?’ I say, ‘yes honey.’”
On Jan. 25, sheriff’s deputies deployed Chucky to take down a suspect, 38-year-old Matthew Mireles, who had fired several times at officers during the pursuit.
Fighting back tears, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar says Chucky died a hero in every sense of the word.
“Chucky attempted to jump and take down of the suspect but landed in a vulnerable position, in front of and just a few feet from the armed suspect,” Salazar said. “The suspect fired at Chucky at near point blank range, and Chucky was shot once in the torso.”
Salazar said Chucky was mortally wounded, but the dog launched himself again at the suspect, who shot him a second time.
Chucky is the first Bexar County Sheriff’s K9 deputy to lose his life in the line of duty due to hostile actions.
Salazar awarded Chucky three posthumous honors: the BCSO Purple Heart medal, the BCSO Lifesaving medal, and the BCSO Medal of Honor -- the county’s highest honor.
Mireles faces several charges, including interference with a police service animal and attempted capital murder of a police officer.
View Chucky's memorial service here.
Norma Martinez can be reached by email at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1.
