Oklahoma City police dog dies of stab wounds: media reports

By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma City police dog stabbed multiple times died on Monday as a result of wounds it incurred while trying to subdue a suspect who led police on a high-speed car chase and then was shot dead by an officer, local media quoted police as saying. The suspect, whose name has not been released, stabbed the dog on Sunday night after the car's tires were punctured by spikes placed in the road by police and he drove into a ditch, police said. The dog was a 3-year-old German Shepherd named Kye who died of apparent cardiac arrest after emergency surgery, police told local TV news stations. Police officials were not immediately available for comment. When the driver began running along a service road, the Oklahoma City K9 officer released his police dog, which chased and caught the suspect, who took out a knife and started stabbing the animal, Oklahoma City Police Captain Dexter Nelson said. The officer, identified as 13-year-veteran Ryan Stark, then fatally shot the man. The police dog was taken to a veterinarian for emergency surgery, Nelson said. Stark is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. The suspect is thought to have skipped out on an unpaid bar tab and then stolen a car, police said. His name has not been released because of difficulty locating his next of kin, police said. (Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh)