Man charged in police K-9’s death
Gary resident facing multiple counts in fatal shooting after chase
A Gary man is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and striking a law enforcement animal, for fatally shooting Gary police K-9 officer Falco during a foot chase Thursday afternoon.
Spencer Patterson, 29, is charged with attempted murder, a level 1 felony; attempted battery, a level 5 felony; resisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony; striking a law enforcement animal, a level 6 felony; and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
Around 1:45 p.m. Thursday, 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.
Gary Officer Angel Lozano and his K-9 partner, Falco, proceeded to the area of the 1000 block of East 35th Place to search for Patterson, where they engaged in a foot pursuit in an area with knee-high greenery, 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. Falco 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.
Investigators found a shell casing and a wallet near Falco. Later, they discovered a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic handgun near a bush, where Patterson had hidden before officers located and arrested him, records state. Police found four bullet casings from Patterson’s gun and six from Lozano’s duty weapon, a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
When questioned by police, Patterson said that he was at a relative’s house on East 35th Place when Lozano approached him, asking for his name, the affidavit states.
Patterson told police that he initially lied to Lozano, knowing that he had a warrant out for his arrest. Lozano patted him down a tried to handcuff him, when Patterson grabbed a wallet from the hood of the police car and ran, records state. Patterson said he went over two fences and he knew that “people leave guns and drugs in bushes in certain spots,” so he didn’t possess a handgun when Lozano searched him.
Patterson told police he was bitten in the right buttock by the dog, but was able to pin it down and fired the gun in the dog’s direction, court records state.