Bainbridge Island announces death of K-9 officer

Published 11:06 am Friday, October 2, 2015

Retired Bainbridge Island Police Department K-9 Officer Rusty, passed away on Aug. 15 with his human partner, Officer Dale Johnson, and family at his side, city officials announced Friday, Oct. 2.

Rusty served with the island police and surrounding communities for almost 9 years, retiring in early 2013. He came to the Bainbridge Island Police Department after being found in a camper during a drug raid in Whatcom County.

Rusty was placed on death row, but an officer did some preliminary testing and determined that he would make a good K-9 officer and he and Johnson then trained together for over 220 hours at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center.

During his career, Rusty conducted 219 searches – with 547 finds for drugs, cash or other items. His searches led to 181 arrests, 12 vehicle impounds and the seizure of $130,000 in cash, officials said.

On Aug. 15, Johnson took Rusty to a veterinarian because he had injured his leg the day before while trying to hide from a thunderstorm.

It was determined Rusty sustained a broken leg, but also revealed he had bone cancer. The prognosis wasn’t hopeful, so the decision was made to have Rusty euthanized.

Rusty was the first and only K-9 Officer for the island police department, and, although a little hairier than his co-workers, became a favorite figure in the department and island-wide.

The delay between Rusty’s death and the official announcement was explained by city officials.

“I’m sure part of the delay was being sensitive to the grieving process that Officer Johnson was going through,” said city spokeswoman Kellie Stickney.