Colorado K9 killed in officer-involved shooting last week remembered for saving lives; ‘he was one of our own’
Hundreds of mourners and law enforcement officers gathered Thursday for a public memorial service honoring Jinx, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office K9 killed in a shooting last week in Manitou Springs.
“On the night he was killed, Jinx’s actions surely saved the lives of our deputies, other officers at the scene, and many citizens in Manitou Springs,” said El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, addressing those gathered for the 11 a.m. memorial service at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. “You should be fiercely proud of Jinx for his commitment to his agency, to this community and to you. When we lost Jinx, we lost a member of our office.”
Jinx was killed April 11, after officers responded to a late-night “menacing incident” in Manitou that ended in gunfire. Police say the suspect, later identified as 67-year-old Wilford Robert DeWeese, fired at least one shot at them. DeWeese was killed when two Manitou Springs police officers and two El Paso County sheriff’s deputies, including Jinx’s handler, Deputy Ronnie Hancock, returned fire.
Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Witherite, a colleague and close friend of Deputy Hancock, spoke Thursday about the bond that grows among partners who work together in the K9 unit. He also addressed the particular challenges of the job in El Paso County, an area almost twice the size of Rhode Island and home to almost 750,000 people.
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“It’s really easy to see all the fun things that K9 handlers get to do on a daily basis. What better job than to show up every day and play with dogs?” said Witherite, who — with Hancock — is one of only two sheriff’s department K9 teams available to assist with a range of operations by agencies including Colorado State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI. “It’s really easy to think that our job is simple, but no one other than the handlers in this room know what our job consists of.”
The night of April 11, 2022, Witherite said, “changed the EPSO canine unit forever.”
“There’s a saying we always use, ‘Paws Before Boots.’ The mindset is to utilize our police K9s in situations where it’s too dangerous for humans to go in first,” Witherite said. “The decision to use K9 Jinx as a less-than-lethal option in that situation ultimately cost Jinx his life. But Jinx proudly and without hesitation sacrificed his life to protect his handler, officers on scene, and the community, which was in direct line of fire from the suspect.
“We could not be more proud than Jinx. He will forever be a hero.”
Thursday’s memorial service drew officers from more than 20 law-enforcement agencies along the Front Range, and as far south as Trinidad, where officers had trained with the EPCSO canine unit.
Elizabeth Barker, an officer with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, attended with two co-workers.
“We felt it was very important for us to come and show our support for not only Deputy Hancock and Jinx, but for all of the law enforcement agencies here, who came together for this to show solidarity and support for each other,” Barker said. “I never got to meet Jinx, but he was obviously a very smart cookie. It sounds like he definitely saved lives that night, and I’m sure he did it on a daily basis.”
El Paso County Sheriff’s office mourns death of police dog
During his two years with the Sheriff’s Office, 3-year-old Jinx was deployed more than 100 times. His work with Deputy Hancock led to the location of 22 suspects, six of whom Jinx was able to apprehend, and $250,000 in illegal narcotics.