16-year-old charged in death of Mesquite Police Department K-9

A necropsy conducted on K-9 Kozmo has revealed trauma consistent with an assault, therefore probable cause has been obtained to charge one of the aggravated robbery suspects in Kozmo’s death. This suspect (a 16 yoa juvenile male) will be charged with Interference with a Police Service Animal (causing injury or death), which is a second-degree felony.

Original Release: On 04/26/21 at approximately 2:39 A.M., the Mesquite Police Department was dispatched to assist the Balch Springs Police Department in the pursuit of multiple aggravated robbery suspects. During the pursuit, spike strips were deployed and disabled the suspect vehicle near Bruton Rd and IH 635. The suspects fled on foot into a wooded area adjacent to the highway. During the foot pursuit, MPD K-9 Kozmo, Badge #1191 was utilized to track the suspects. The suspects were eventually located and taken into custody, but K-9 Kozmo was not located. At approximately 4:13 A.M., after an extensive search, MPD K-9 Kozmo was located and found to be deceased.

A necropsy and other testing is scheduled to determine the manner of death and more details will be released as they become available.
It should be noted that our K9s are members of the MPD family. Kozmo was an amazing and loyal dog who gave his life in the performance of his duties. We ask everyone to keep all of our officers in their thoughts and prayers as we deal with this loss.

A memorial service will be planned for K-9 Kozmo and those details will be released as they become available.