KALAMAZOO (WWJ) – A K-9 officer with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is expected to make a full recovery after he was stabbed several times in the neck by a suspect he was tasked with apprehending this week.
According to the department , Officer “Sledge” walked out of the Animal Emergency & Specialty Hospital in Byron Center, about 42 miles north of Kalamazoo, five hours after he was rushed there on Tuesday (Feb. 6) evening with serious injuries.
The department said the “rapidly unfolding event” began when officers were dispatched to 900 block of W. Kalamazoo Ave. around 7:30 p.m. after reports stated a 49-year-old male armed with a knife was threatening to stab people.
Upon arrival, officers immediately encountered the suspect on a porch. The male was armed with a box cutter and allegedly began threatening police.
He ignored commands to drop the knife and began to advance on the officers, including K-9 handler Officer Max Houtman and his canine counterpart, a Dutch Shepherd named Sledge.