Crime Wave
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Interview with Sgt. Thompson himself.
The Case
The sun starts to set on another hot and humid day in the state of Virginia.
In Roanoke; however, the welcomed drop in evening temperature gives way to another far more concerning wave for the citizens. Over the last 2 weeks, there has been 22 cases of burglary with no sign of a let up. By all accounts, the string of burglaries has been carried out by the same individual.
The Roanoke Police Department has been tasked with trying to capture the suspect. They have enough video surveillance, compiled from the local stores that have been broken into, to have a clear picture of who they are looking for. The suspect hasn’t been trying to hide his identity either…he’s simply taken what isn’t his and continued on his way.
The most frustrating part is that even with multiple officers, detectives, and dog teams on constant look out for any signs of the man, he continues to seemingly vanish into thin air.
It’s hard to image that someone who appears to be passive, was so willing to put up a violent fight when finally located.
The Battle
The Roanoke Hotel: Roanoke, VA.
Sgt. Thompson is slowly circling around the Roanoke Hotel in the downtown area of the city.
Built in 1882 on top of a hill, the hotel is a crowning landmark of the area and is designed with a distinct southern charm. Brick, stone, and marble adorn the entrance, with a large canopy shading the valets who stand patiently outside. You can imagine horse drawn carriages pulling up to the perfectly manicured and candlelit entrance, letting out the elites in the area for weddings back in its heyday.
As Sgt. Thompson eyes the hotel, he can’t help but feel that something is about to go down. Only 20 minutes earlier, dispatch has put out another staticky ATB, “car window smashed, contents of purse stolen. Suspect appears to have fled on foot.”
A theft of items from a car is unlike a high stakes bank robbery. The payoff is low, which means that the suspect is often the same culprit in a larger string of similar robberies. They tend to hit one target, then continue down the road to hit another.
Having just broken into the first car of the night, what better location to hit next than an upscale hotel parking lot?
Sgt. Thompson’s intuition is right.
Anxiously coming out of a pedestrian crossway toward the hotel is a man that fits the exact description of the suspect. There is no doubt in Sgt. Thompson’s mind that this is the guy they have been trying to locate for the past 14 days.
Without hesitation, he swings open his driver’s side door and says, “Hey buddy, slow down, I need to talk to you for a minute”.
The man is startled, but his resolve quickly hardens. Like most people caught between a rock and a hard place, he quickly turns into an evasive con-man.
“For what?” he says as he shifts in his clothes uncomfortably, “A guy can’t take a walk at night?”
The man swiftly scans his surroundings and slightly accelerates his walk, continuing to move away from Sgt. Thompson. With his experience, Sgt. Thompson has seen this song and dance too many times to count.
He takes one step toward the man and, right on cue, the suspect takes off running.
Sgt. Thompson is a seasoned cop, and is prepared for this situation. He proceeds to follow, while simultaneously pointing toward his truck. He hits the button on the key fob in his hand and the back door of his cruiser pops open.
Sgt. Thompson and PSD Loki. Partners since 2016.
Inside, a massive 90 pound German Shepherd emerges from the truck bed, his ears pointing straight up in the air. His eyes are a deep shade of auburn and the only thing darker than his muzzle is his jet-black Patrol Swat Vest, protecting his body. His vest and fur combine to create an almost seamless transition from one to the next under the veil of the night sky. His four paws hit the ground and he lets out a huff like a bull, ready to charge whoever dares stand in his path. This is not a dog to be trifled with.
Instantly, Loki paints a red target on the back of the fleeing suspect. He accelerates with powerful strides, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He passes Sgt. Thompson, and in mid-run, loads his legs, and launches toward his marked man.
Only when Loki jumps does Sgt. Thompson notice the pocket knife the suspect is holding in his hand.
Loki leaps up and bites down hard on the suspect’s right arm. The man yells in anguish as a mixture of pain and fear causes him to drop the knife. Loki and the suspect are now in an all-out battle as Sgt. Thompson rushes in to help Loki. He is only steps away when suddenly the pair slide out of view.
Like a toppled stack of building blocks, the two of them go cascading down the side of the steep landscaped hill on which the hotel was built, and slam directly into a brick retaining wall at the bottom, roaring through bushes and bramble along the way. It takes only a moment for Sgt. Thompson to locate that Loki and the suspect are at the bottom, when he hears a peculiar sound.
An electric bug zapper?
He looks and sees that the suspect has now drawn another weapon – a hot pink handheld stun gun, used for personal protection. The electricity snaps wildly like a pair of short-circuiting jumper cables. With Loki still locked on his arm, the suspect puts the weapon directly to Loki’s body and pulls the trigger.
Nothing.
Baffled, he tries again.
Nothing.
Sgt. Thompson comes barreling in, attempting to wrestle the stun gun away, but in the process is shocked directly in the hands. This gives the suspect a split second to turn the stun gun back on Loki, and he rams it directly into his neck.
Loki lets out a yelp…but instead of loosening his hold, he clamps down even harder, challenging him to try it again. He stares directly at his attacker with the targeted strength of a laser. He is focused enough to burn a hole through the man’s skull.
The trio continue to battle and Sgt. Thompson is able to successful knock the stun gun out of the suspects hand. The three are now stacked up like a sandwich; Loki on the bottom, the suspect in the middle, and Sgt. Thompson above him.
“Let me see your hands!”, Sgt. Thompson yells, but the suspect refuses to comply with any of the orders given. Instead, with his free hand under his body, he reaches into the belt of his waist and slides out his 3rd and final weapon.
A razor-sharp set of pointed garden sheers.
Thrashing wildly, he swings the sheers violently in an attempt to kill Loki. The first attack misses, but the second lands with a dead *thud*, directly into Loki’s body, just below his arm.
Loki continues to hang on.
Sgt. Thompson desperately knocks the sheers out of the suspects hands, but the man is still fighting. In a final act of desperation, the suspect, with Loki still attached to his arm pulls him toward his own face.
Then, in an absolutely twisted fashion, the man bites down hard on Loki’s own nose.
Sgt. Thompson has never seen anything like this. In an attempt to cause as little harm to Loki as possible, he decides he has no other choice but to pepper spray the suspect. The stinging pain sears the man’s exposed eyeballs, and open mouth, causing him to cough uncontrollably. Instantly, he releases his hold on Loki.
With nothing left in the tank and literally no more weapons at his disposal, the seemingly endless resolve of the suspect finally is broken and Sgt. Thompson takes him into custody.
The Aftermath
Sgt. Thompson checks Loki to see if he’s okay. There is noticeable teeth impressions, dug deep into his nose that are bleeding - but the rest of his body appears to be fine.
He proceeds to examine Loki’s Patrol Swat Vest. Although the stun gun was used to attack him, his vest completely nullified the electrical charge to his body. Incredibly, this weapon was stolen from the car that the man had just broken into. The garden sheers on the other hand, did cause visible damage to the outer carrier of his vest. Just 0.5” away from his shoulder, the sheers hit the outermost part of the ballistic panel, right inline with his heart. The attack could not have been more on the edge of his vest.
Loki sustained no lacerations, no cuts, and no puncture wounds anywhere on his body.
The duo went back to work mere days later.
Photo of damage to the outter carrier of Loki’s Patrol Swat Vest. With even 0.5” less protection on Loki, the attack is going straight into his heart.
Photo of damage to the waterproof lining. This is why everything is custom-fit at K9 Storm. The difference is life and death.
The reality of Loki’s story is that violent encounters are common in the world of policing. Every time you step out of the vehicle, you are rolling the dice on what type of suspect you are going to be dealing with.
The hardest conversations I’ve had are with handlers who have lost a dog. Everyone is looking for a reason or a sign as to why things turned out the way they did, but the truth is that some situations are simply out of our control.
All you can do as a handler is give your dog the best tools to stay in the fight and stack the odds in your favor if the devil decides to call your number.
With the help of Spike’s K9 Fund, who are based just down the road in Norfolk, Virginia, Loki along with the rest of the Roanoke police dogs are outfitted with their own custom-fit Patrol Swat Vests. Loki has been using his exclusively since 2016 for all calls, night and day, no matter what the situation. Loki is still alive because Sgt. Thompson, the Roanoke PD, and Spike’s K9 Fund acted years before this incident even occurred and didn’t settle for less than what they needed to get the job done and come home safely.
We are beyond grateful.