Police K9 OK After Drowning Attempt, Suspect Can't Say the Same

A routine traffic stop in Lee County turned violent Tuesday when the suspect feigned stopping and decided to ram a deputy’s cruiser instead. He took off after the impact, leading deputies on a chase.

That chase ended with the suspect crashing into a tree in Lehigh Acres, according to NBC-2.com. The driver and a passenger than bailed out of the car and ran into nearby woods.

That’s when Lee County deputies brought in a K9 unit. Police K9 Triton caught up with one of the suspects in a canal and was subsequently struck.

“The suspect attempted to drown Triton by holding his head underwater in a canal,” the sheriff’s office explained on its Facebook page.

Things didn’t work out so well for that suspect or the driver of the vehicle, according to NBC. Octavius Pullen, 28, and Joshua White, 28, were both caught. The pair now face a host of charges while Triton recovers from the drowning attempt.

“We are happy to report that Triton and his handler, Deputy Rob Elwell, are both doing great and are going to be back on the street in a couple of days,” the sheriff’s office Facebook page says. “Thank you to our K9 deputies and K9 partners that place themselves in harm’s way every day to protect the citizens of Lee County!”