The Chattanooga Police Department said it is deeply saddened to announce the passing of K-9 Diesel. (Chattanooga Police Department)
Chattanooga, Tenn.
A police department in Tennessee says one of its K-9s had to be euthanized after being injured in the line of duty.
According to the Chattanooga Police Department, K-9 Diesel suffered significant injuries earlier this week while executing a security sweep during a SWAT operation.
The police department said Diesel underwent emergency surgery on Monday, but the team quickly realized that his injuries would leave him with a severely diminished quality of life.
“After careful consideration and multiple consultations with veterinary teams, the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize him,” the department shared.
Diesel, a German shepherd, was born on Aug. 28, 2022, and joined CPD in April 2024 after coming from Southern Coast K-9 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
He was a dual-purpose patrol and narcotics detection K-9, assigned to Officer Paul Winkelman.
During his 17 months of service, Diesel had many achievements that included earning a second-place finish in narcotics detection during this year’s region K-9 trials while carrying out multiple successful apprehensions with the SWAT team.
“K-9 Diesel was a member of the CPD family and his loss is felt by all of us, especially his handler and the entire K-9 unit,” Assistant Police Chief Rusty Morrison said.
The CPD extended its gratitude to the many people and partners who helped Diesel attempt to recover from his injury.