Norbi, a Belgian Malinois K-9 officer with the Troy Police Department in New York, has amazingly recovered from a vicious stabbing attack sustained while on duty.
The heroic pup and his human partner were pursuing a burglary suspect in the Emerald Greens neighborhood when the attack took place.
According to police reports, Norbi was leashed and on the trail of the alleged burglar when the suspect lunged at him, prompting the K-9 to defend himself and bite the suspect on the leg. The suspect retaliated by repeatedly stabbing the dog 12 times in the torso area.
The suspect was then apprehended by police and taken to a local hospital to treat the dog bite. Meanwhile, Norbi was rushed to Upstate Veterinary Specialties in Latham for urgent medical attention.
Thankfully, the veterinary team at Upstate Veterinary Specialties promptly attended to Norbi’s injuries, and after receiving critical but stable care, the K-9 was released the same day.
Colleagues from the Troy Police Department gathered outside the animal hospital to salute to their four-legged comrade after his release.
“Canine Norbi is expected to make a full recovery and will be returning to active duty after a period of rest and rehabilitation,” the Troy Police Department said in a statement.
The alleged attacker, identified as Curtis Knockwood, was brought before the court, where he pleaded not guilty to several charges, including felony burglary and misdemeanor injuring a police animal. He was remanded into custody without bail.
According to the Troy Police Department, officers initially responded to reports of a suspect attempting to break into residences in the Donegal Avenue area. With the assistance of additional officers, Norbi and his handler tracked the suspect into a wooded area where the situation then escalated to violence.
“The K-9 handler attempted to use a taser, but it was ineffective to control the defendant. Luckily, additional officers were nearby at the scene,” Troy Assistant Police Chief Steven Barker explained.
Another officer reportedly suffered a broken foot in the confrontation.
“We recognize that dogs are tools, but nonetheless, they are still members of our agency that we deal with and work with every single day,” Assistant Chief Barker stated.
The charges against Knockwood are substantial and encompass his attempted burglary of two residences, theft of equipment from a shed and the injuries inflicted on K-9 Norbi. They include attempted burglary, burglary, criminal possession of burglar’s tools, criminal mischief, petit larceny, criminal trespass, resisting arrest, assault, menacing a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon, injuring a police animal and aggravated cruelty to an animal.
