Gary Police Sgt. Angel Lozano testified Tuesday that Spencer Patterson shot his K-9 police dog Falco before shooting at him. Patterson was 6 feet away and the shots missed the officer.
Patterson, 30, of Gary, later said he shot the dog because it was biting him as he ran from the cop.
He is on trial this week for felony counts of attempted murder, battery by means of a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement, striking a law enforcement animal and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. He has pleaded not guilty.
The dog was shot five times, an expert testified earlier. Lozano testified he was a U.S. Army Iraq combat veteran and had trained the K-9 dog from when it was a 9-month-old pup.
Around 1:45 p.m. July 13, 2023, police said a Ford Fusion belonging to Patterson crossed the intersection of Ridge Road and Grant Street in Gary, where a license plate reader determined that Patterson had multiple active felony warrants pending against him out of Gary, including charges of aggravated battery and criminal recklessness.
Lozano and his K-9 partner, Falco, proceeded to the area of the 1000 block of East 35th Place to search for Patterson. At first, he ordered Patterson, who was “fidgety,” to put his hands on the car. He gave the officer a fake name. As Lozano tried to handcuff him, Patterson took off.
They engaged in a foot pursuit in an area with knee-high overgrown grass, according to the probable cause affidavit. A witness told police that Patterson jumped over a fence and Falco followed him, hopping over the fence as well. Lozano couldn’t climb the fence, so he ran along its east side when he heard a few shots go off, records state.
Falco was shot during the short chase and he died from his wounds in the back of the residence. The animal was lying on the ground and had “shallow breathing,” Lozano told jurors. The dog served eight years with the Gary Police Department, with more than 1,000 deployments, apprehending suspects and seizing numerous drugs, according to Gary Police Chief Anthony Titus.
In the backyard, Lozano noticed Falco was down but couldn’t initially locate Patterson, court records state. He told investigators that as he approached the west side of the residence, Patterson fired at him and he fired back at Patterson. At that point, Patterson gave up and was taken into custody, the affidavit states.
At some point, Lozano called for backup. Two other officers arrived.
Richard Cooper, a contractor, testified Tuesday he was working on a home on E. 35th Place when an armed man appeared outside in a blue shirt. He heard two shots, a police dog “fall back,” then three more shots.
He went toward the front to avoid the shooting and directed an officer to the back fence gate. Cooper said he was an ex-U.S. Marine and could tell that different guns were fired. In total, he heard a handful of shots, then a shotgun blast.
“I’m done, I’m done. I give up,” he heard the armed man say.
The whole incident lasted under a minute. How did the suspect look, Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz asked.
“Actually, he looked pretty good,” Cooper said. “Police showed great restraint.”
The trial is before Judge Salvador Vasquez. Defense lawyer John Cantrell is representing Patterson. Deputy Prosecutor Adam Martin is assisting Jatkiewicz.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Post-Tribune archives contributed.