HURRICANE, Utah — A police K9 was critically injured and a man was fatally shot by police after a he reportedly entered a stranger's home and engaged in a car chase with officers.
Around 7:30 p.m. Monday night, police were called to the Hurricane Cemetery on reports of a man who claimed he was being threatened.
The man was later identified as 46-year-old Jose Palacios Pascacio. Police say he was a Hurricane resident.
Officers found Pascacio in the middle of 100 East and State Street.
When they approached him, Pascacio started yelling and drove his Toyota minivan at police before fleeing from the scene.
“The male went back into his vehicle, drove right towards two of our officers just narrowly missing them,” said Officer Dan Raddatz, Public Information Officer for the Hurricane City Police Department.
Radditz said Pascacio was driving erratically and due to safety concerns, they called off the pursuit.
Pascacio drove into oncoming traffic, hitting another vehicle before crashing in the area of 700 West State Street.
Officers said they checked the minivan, but didn’t find him inside and didn’t know where he went.
“A short time later we had gotten a call from this neighborhood here the 2460 West 250 North area in Hurricane from a family stating that an older mid-40s Hispanic gentleman only speaking Spanish had just walked into their home,” said Raddatz.
Officer Radditz said the family of four was able to get out of the home safely.
“At that time our officers came over here to try and talk with him,” said Radditz, “When they entered the home, ultimately they had our K9 officer Riko with them and they entered the home, I can’t get into the specifics of what exactly occurred but ultimately our K9 officer was stabbed in the neck and then the suspect was fatally shot.”
Officer K9 Riko was driven to an emergency veterinary hospital in Las Vegas and police say survived, in part to a blood donation and transfusion from K9 officer Enzo with the St. George Police Department.
“We are happy to report that he is in stable condition now, still awaiting a couple more surgeries, but his status is much improved from last night to today,” said Radditz.
Officials reported that after several days receiving emergency medical care, Riko was welcomed home Thursday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The officer-involved shooting is being investigated by the Washington County Critical Incident Task Force.
"We send our condolences to the family of the deceased," a press release reads in part, "and our hearts and prayers are currently with our K9 that was injured and his partner and family as we all are hoping for the best possible outcome."
The resident and three other family members who were in the home were uninjured in the incident, police reported.
An investigation into the incident is underway by the Washington County Critical Incident Task Force.
Anyone interested in donating to help pay for Riko's medical costs can do so at their website.
