17-year-old suspect in K9 death shot, killed by police, according to Clayton County PD
By Hope Dean
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — An hours-long search ended in a 17-year-old suspect’s death after police say he shot and killed a Clayton County police K9 early Saturday morning.
Stephon Ford refused to put his gun down and was shot and killed by police upon being found, Clayton County Police Department Assistant Chief Bruce Parks said in a press conference. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.
“The overall situation is tragic. We hate it,” Parks said. “We never want anything like this to happen. We try to use all our training and experience to bring it to an easy resolution, but this is not easy on us. It’s not easy on the suspect’s family. And it’s something that is gonna take a while to get by.”
Jonesboro police were originally called to investigate “suspicious activity” at a hotel off Tara Boulevard, Clayton County police said in the conference. They arrested two men who reportedly had drug paraphernalia and weapons, but a third — Ford — was still on the run.
Clayton County police were called to assist in finding Ford. A K9 was sent into the woods where Ford was last seen, police said.
When the dog located the teen, officers told him to surrender. But Ford reportedly shot in the direction of officers with a handgun, hitting the K9, police said.
The K9 was rushed to a local animal hospital but died, according to police. The dog’s name was Waro, and he had been with the department for several years, police said.
Police reportedly searched several locations for Ford, including his family’s home off Magnolia Drive and Holly Drive. When they found him, officers told him to put his gun down and shot him several times when he did not comply, police said.
Ford reportedly had run-ins with Jonesboro police before. For the K9 incident, he faced charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, aggravated cruelty to animals and destruction of government property.
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