The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is mourning the death of one of its own after K9 Wick died in the line of duty early Thursday morning.
Wick was struck by a vehicle during a pursuit, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
The incident began around 1 a.m., when officers identified a stolen vehicle at Windsor Lake Boulevard and Brookfield Road, the release said.
Officers attempted to pull over the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop, leading to a pursuit on Interstate 77, police said.
At the second mile marker on I-77, officers deployed stop sticks and the vehicle came to a stop, but the driver then ran away, according to the release.
With the suspected carjacker still in sight, K9 specialist Zaid Abdullah deployed Wick, the sheriff’s department said. Abdullah and Wick were in pursuit when the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois’ leash broke, the release said. Wick drove away from Abdullah and continued on the northbound side of I-77, where he was struck by a vehicle, the sheriff’s department said.
Wick, who had been with the sheriff’s office for a year and a half, died at the scene, the release said.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Wick has been identified and South Carolina Highway Patrol will conduct an investigation into the collision, according to the news release.
The suspected car thief escaped, but several other law enforcement agencies in the area responded to assist in the search and an investigation is ongoing, the sheriff’s department said.
According to the release, there will be a funeral procession for Wick at 11 a.m. Thursday.
The sheriff’s department said the nearly 10-mile procession will begin at 3924 Fernandina Road in Columbia and end at 200 State Street in West Columbia.
Sheriff Leon Lott will speak to the media Thursday afternoon about Wick’s death.
“As the Richland County Sheriff’s Department mourns the loss of K9 Wick, we thank the community for their support,” the release said.
Before Wick’s death, the sheriff’s department had a K9 unit with 26 dogs and their handlers, making it one of the largest law enforcement K9 units in South Carolina.
The sheriff’s team has two dogs to detect explosives; five to locate human remains; and one to detect electronics, which are often used in child pornography cases. The rest of the dogs are full-service, meaning they are trained in multiple skills, including search, apprehension, article search and narcotics detection, the state previously reported.
This is the second time in just over a week that a law enforcement K9 has been killed in the line of duty in South Carolina.
On June 11, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division K9 Coba was shot in the line of duty while assisting the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in arresting a man wanted on burglary charges.
