# Police Dog Dies On Duty CT



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*German Shepherd Killed As Officers Investigate Burglary
*December 21, 2005 
By DON STACOM, Courant Staff Writer

BRISTOL -- Bosco, the police German Shepherd credited with helping to make scores of drug arrests over the past two years, was killed by a shotgun blast at a burglary scene Tuesday morning.

The dog was part of a team called to the site of a possible break-in at a house on Sims Road. Bosco's job was to search the house for a burglar, but instead he charged across the first floor, bounded through an open door to the back yard and attacked Officer Bryan Aleia, who was watching the back of the house in case the burglar tried to escape.

"Bosco chased out and attacked the officer, broke off, but then came back at him a second time," Capt. Daniel McIntyre said. "That's when the officer discharged his weapon."

It appears to be the first time that a police dog in Connecticut has been killed by "friendly fire," although similar incidents have happened elsewhere. Two years ago, police in Memphis killed a police dog that attacked officers guarding the perimeter of a burglary scene.

Bosco was wearing a bulletproof vest. Chief John DiVenere said he wasn't certain whether the dog was struck in the head, or whether the close-range shotgun blast penetrated the vest.

DiVenere said veteran Officer Greg Blackinton, the dog's handler, was shaken by the incident and will get time off from work.

"It was devastating for him. The dog was a pet as much as a partner," DiVenere said.

Over the past two years, Blackinton and Bosco had worked at traffic stops, bar fights, burglarized buildings and at searches for missing persons. Police frequently took them along when serving felony warrants as a way to discourage suspects from trying to run.

Aleia required several stitches for his wounds, but returned to work Tuesday afternoon, DiVenere said.

Aleia was one of the first officers to reach 30 Sims Road after homeowner Don Neveu called for help shortly before 9 a.m. Neveu had left work and gone home to take equipment to his garage and discovered lights on and the garage door open when he arrived. Inside, he discovered that his two loaded pistols were missing, and then he heard noises from the basement.

"I called the police a second time to say the guys might have guns," Neveu said.

Ivy Drive Elementary School nearby was put on lockdown as a precaution; police surrounded the house; and Blackinton released Bosco through the front door with an order to search. Evidently, nobody realized that a sliding glass door in the back of the house was open, police said.

After the dog was shot, police called in the regional Emergency Response Team. Officers from Bristol, Southington and Plainville arrived in an armored personnel carrier and approached the house with M4 rifles and ballistic shields. They searched it at 11:30 a.m. and did not find anyone inside.

The burglar had apparently left before the first officers arrived.

Zachary J. Girardin was arrested on the other side of the city in an unrelated case about 10:30 a.m. He appeared intoxicated when he tried to walk out of the Mobil on the Run convenience mart on Middle Street with merchandise hidden in his jacket, according to a clerk. When he was confronted, Girardin emptied his pockets and put a loaded pistol on the counter. He left the pistol, walked out to his car and walked back into the shop and retrieved the gun, which he waved in front of patrons and employees, police said.

Officers found him sitting in his car with the handgun. Police later determined that the gun was one of the two stolen from Neveu's home.

Girardin, 22, of 65 Terryville Ave., was held Tuesday with bail set at $100,000. He was charged with burglary, two counts of theft of a firearm, reckless endangerment, carrying a pistol without a permit, breach of peace and larceny. Police said more charges are pending.


----------



## Sports2398 (Nov 13, 2005)

Definetly a tradgic end. My heart goes out to both the handler and the officer attacked.


----------



## PVD24 (Oct 22, 2003)

Im from Bristol.. and I knew about Bosco... what a great tool they had.... Poor thing... My respect and heart go out to the officers in Boston.. and to Bosco...


----------



## MA218 (Sep 30, 2005)

man thats terrible. Tough situation all around.....


----------

