Ogden police dog puts truck in gear, runs over woman
Serious injuries: Officials are unsure how the K-9 kicked the rig into gear
By Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
They can sniff out drugs, find lost people and track down suspects, but K-9s are not trained to drive. So people in Ogden are wondering how one police dog slipped a truck into gear Tuesday and ran over a woman, seriously injuring her.
"I've been here for almost 30 years and this is the first time I've heard it happening," said Ogden police Lt. Loring Draper, who was a K-9 officer for nine years.
The victim, Mary F. Stone, 41, was at McKay Dee Hospital on Wednesday and is expected to remain there for two or three more days, said her husband, Paul Stone.
The accident happened about 7 p.m. in a cul-de-sac near 700 East and 500 North. Draper said an Ogden police K-9 handler responded to a domestic disturbance call in his police-issued 1999 Ford F-150. The officer left his dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, in the truck with the sliding door between the bed and the cab open and the windows down in case Ranger had to be deployed, Draper said. The truck was running so the dog had air conditioning.
As police were responding to the domestic disturbance, Mary Stone was on her way to a roadside mailbox. On the phone to her husband, she informed him there were police cars nearby. "I said, 'Why don't you wait a few minutes,' " Paul Stone said. "She said, 'Oh, that's OK.' "
A few moments later, Mary Stone's teenage son told Paul Stone, "Mom just got ran over by a cop car."
Draper said Ranger hit the shift on the steering column and put the automatic transmission into gear. The truck slowly progressed forward, Draper said, and police officers yelled at Mary Stone to move out of the way. But, Draper said, Mary Stone remained in front
of the truck.
It appears she was trying to push it to a stop, Draper said. A front and rear tire ran over Mary Stone, her husband said. "She had tire marks on her clothes," Paul Stone said, adding that his wife has four or five pelvis fractures and a broken tailbone. The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a Toyota Tercel in the driveway.
Draper said police are trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily. "The dog didn't step on the brake to put it in 'drive,' " Draper said.
Paul Stone was angry Wednesday that no police had contacted him or his family to discuss the incident. "No one's called me," he said. "No one's said, 'I'm sorry we did this.' Nothing."
Paul Stone said his wife's mother died Sunday, and his wife will not be able to attend memorial services on Saturday because of her injuries.
One person was arrested in relation to the domestic disturbance. Draper said there are no plans to change K-9 handling procedures or take K-9 vehicles out of service.
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4044660
Serious injuries: Officials are unsure how the K-9 kicked the rig into gear
By Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
They can sniff out drugs, find lost people and track down suspects, but K-9s are not trained to drive. So people in Ogden are wondering how one police dog slipped a truck into gear Tuesday and ran over a woman, seriously injuring her.
"I've been here for almost 30 years and this is the first time I've heard it happening," said Ogden police Lt. Loring Draper, who was a K-9 officer for nine years.
The victim, Mary F. Stone, 41, was at McKay Dee Hospital on Wednesday and is expected to remain there for two or three more days, said her husband, Paul Stone.
The accident happened about 7 p.m. in a cul-de-sac near 700 East and 500 North. Draper said an Ogden police K-9 handler responded to a domestic disturbance call in his police-issued 1999 Ford F-150. The officer left his dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, in the truck with the sliding door between the bed and the cab open and the windows down in case Ranger had to be deployed, Draper said. The truck was running so the dog had air conditioning.
As police were responding to the domestic disturbance, Mary Stone was on her way to a roadside mailbox. On the phone to her husband, she informed him there were police cars nearby. "I said, 'Why don't you wait a few minutes,' " Paul Stone said. "She said, 'Oh, that's OK.' "
A few moments later, Mary Stone's teenage son told Paul Stone, "Mom just got ran over by a cop car."
Draper said Ranger hit the shift on the steering column and put the automatic transmission into gear. The truck slowly progressed forward, Draper said, and police officers yelled at Mary Stone to move out of the way. But, Draper said, Mary Stone remained in front
of the truck.
It appears she was trying to push it to a stop, Draper said. A front and rear tire ran over Mary Stone, her husband said. "She had tire marks on her clothes," Paul Stone said, adding that his wife has four or five pelvis fractures and a broken tailbone. The truck then went through the Stones' yard and struck a Toyota Tercel in the driveway.
Draper said police are trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily. "The dog didn't step on the brake to put it in 'drive,' " Draper said.
Paul Stone was angry Wednesday that no police had contacted him or his family to discuss the incident. "No one's called me," he said. "No one's said, 'I'm sorry we did this.' Nothing."
Paul Stone said his wife's mother died Sunday, and his wife will not be able to attend memorial services on Saturday because of her injuries.
One person was arrested in relation to the domestic disturbance. Draper said there are no plans to change K-9 handling procedures or take K-9 vehicles out of service.
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4044660
