Burbank police, along with the community and neighboring communities, is in mourning over the loss of one of its own – Spike, a Belgian Malinois, was with the Burbank K-9 Unit.

Spike had just turned 4 when during the course of his duties he was shot and killed by a suspect. 

According to the Burbank Police Dept., on Nov. 22 at about 6:40 p.m. Burbank police officers conducted a traffic enforcement stop in the 2400 block of Buena Vista Street near the northbound I-5 on-ramp.

During the stop, a passenger fled from the vehicle, ran up the I-5 on-ramp and jumped over the freeway embankment wall into a nearby residential neighborhood. The police officers were able to see the suspect hiding in terrain adjacent to the northbound Interstate-5 freeway near the Buena Vista Street on-ramp. The terrain was thick, uneven and overgrown. The suspect was seen armed with the handgun within proximity of a residential neighborhood.

Additional resources were necessary so the incident transitioned into a joint agency operation with the Burbank and Glendale police departments. This included additional police canine units, crisis negotiators and the Burbank Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).

During the incident, the BPD police canine was struck by gunfire from the suspect who was armed with a handgun. The police canine was transported to a local emergency veterinarian but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

Multiple efforts were made to communicate and negotiate with the suspect, encouraging him to surrender peacefully. Officers established a containment and deployed less lethal systems in an attempt to induce him to surrender.

During these attempts, the suspect began shooting at police officers, striking police vehicles parked near the scene. Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The handgun was recovered.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Burbank Police Dept. – Investigations Division at (818) 238-3210.