The incident, according to Port Authority spokesperson Adam Brandolph, started shortly after 3:30 p.m. Sunday when two Port Authority police officers who were on foot patrol near a public park observed, “three men drinking alcohol in the park” and started to fight with the officers after they were told to leave.
Two of the suspects fled on foot and the third, who was armed with a knife, refused repeated commands from the two officers to put down the knife. The man was then TASED twice, but possibly because of his clothing, the TASER was ineffective.
The suspect continued to fight with and resist the two police officers, refusing to drop the knife, and in the process cut both officers on their hands.
A police officer who was on patrol “released his K-9 to try and subdue the individual, and it was at that time the person stabbed the police dog several times, and that’s when the officers fired their service weapons,” Brandolph said.
Brandolph identified the deceased police dog as K-9 Officer Aren. All of the Port Authority police dogs are imported from Europe, and it is believed that K-9 Officer Aren was from the Czech Republic.
Officer Aren was a “five-year-old German Shepherd who had been in service with Port Authority for about four years,” Brandolph said.
It is unknown if Officer Aren was wearing a protective vest at the time of the incident.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital and died a short time later from the gunshot wounds he received.
One of the two police officers who were stabbed by the suspect is being treated at a local hospital for lacerations to his hand, and the other was not treated, according to Brandolph
A woman who answered the telephone at Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Clinic located just north of Pittsburgh, confirmed that Officer Aren was treated at the hospital, but was unable to provide any further details.
One suspect is in custody, and Brandolph was not able to provide any additional information on the third..
The Allegheny County Police homicide unit is handling the investigation of the police shooting. The names of the suspects, or the officers involved in the incident are not being released at this time.
A 22-year-old man was sentenced up to 44 years in prison last February for the stabbing-death of K-9 Officer Rocco of the Pittsburgh Police Department, and assaulting police officers and sheriff’s deputies as they tried to arrest him.
Funeral arrangements for Officer Aren are pending.
