Oklahoma City homicide
investigators have not decided whether to charge Sgt. Ryan Stark in the death
of Mark Salazar, a robbery suspect who was shot six times while fleeing from a
robbery during an Aug. 24 incident that left Kye, a German Shepherd police dog,
dead from several stab wounds.
BY NICOLE HENSLEY
The autopsy report on an
Oklahoma City robbery suspect who stabbed a police dog does not match the law enforcement
department’s initial report on the officer-involved shooting.
The death of Kye left Sgt. Ryan
Stark distraught over the loss of his German Shepherd K-9 partner. During a
funeral service with police honors, the sergeant gave the 3-year-old dog one
last pat on the head.
The pair had spent two years
together with the Oklahoma City Police Department as partners tracking and
taking into custody an array of criminals.
The agency is currently
reviewing a medical examiner report that suggest Mark Salazar was gunned down
while running away during the Aug. 24 incident.
It’s not clear if homicide
charges will be filed against Stark, who reportedly opened fire after failing
to pull the dog and 22-year-old suspect apart as he fled the scene of a
robbery, according to the Oklahoman.
The Oklahoman reports Salazar
was gunned down while running away, citing a medical examiner report. He was
shot four times in the back and punctured his lungs, liver, stomach and
pancreas. He was also shot in the left arm and left thigh.
In addition to the six gunshot
wounds, Salazar had puncture wounds on his body, but it’s not clear if they
were dog bites from when Kye caught up to the suspect and tackled him during
the case.
“Decedent ignored the police
warnings to stop and surrender,” the report stated, according to the Oklahoman.
“Decedent got up and ran away from the officer, when shots were fired. Decedent
dropped to the ground, lying prone.”
The report was compiled by a
medical examiner investigator who went to the scene of the crime after the
shooting.
