Carjacking suspect leads police on chase, hits Cary K-9 officer while fleeing

A K-9 officer was injured Friday after being hit by a car that a man stole from a Cary dealership.

At 6:30 p.m., Cary police officers were notified that a car was stolen from the Rick Hendricks dealership on U.S. Highway 64.

A man entered the dealership and inquired about test-driving a Ford truck. During the test-drive, he pulled out a firearm and told the salesman to get out of the truck.

Detectives were able to track the car to a location in Raleigh.

Raleigh police officers were called to assist and quickly located the truck. The suspect fled from Raleigh police and returned to the Cary area.

"The suspect took a pretty big journey in this truck," Sergeant Kendrick Alexander, Public Information Officer, Cary Police department said.

Detectives were again able to locate the truck, this time at the Bliss Convenience Store located at the intersection of Lake Pine Drive and Cary Parkway. Cary police arrived on scene and located the truck.

Officers approached the truck and attempted to take the suspect into custody. Among them were K-9 Handler Officer Michael Herrell and his partner K-9 Officer Dakota.

When ordered to get out of the truck, the suspect refused to. While attempting to flee from the parking lot, he drove at a high rate of speed in the direction of the officers.

"At that point he threw the car in gear, pointed the car directly towards those officers and approached them at a very high rate of speed in order to escape," Alexander said.

Officers were forced to jump out of the way in order to avoid being hit. Dakota was hit by the truck as it sped out of the parking lot.

Herrell jumped out of the way in time, but he was unable to prevent Dakota from being hit.

She was immediately taken to an emergency veterinary hospital. Cary police said Dakota is in stable condition.

"We are extremely grateful to the veterinary staff who are treating Canine Officer Dakota," Cary PD said in a statement. "Currently, her condition is stable, and we are praying for her recovery."

The 3-year-old Belgian Malinois began patrolling with Herrell in June. The police department said on Facebook that Dakota is a big fan of tennis balls and loves a good belly rub. She is the first female to join Cary's K-9 unit.

"She’s walking around, exploring the room that she’s in," Alexander said. "She’s even greeting the people that have come to see her which is awesome to see."

The stolen truck was later found abandoned in Raleigh. No one is in custody at this time.

"If he is able to do that, go to a dealership and hold a car salesman at gunpoint," Alexander said. "Then run over an officer and hit a police 9 then what else is he capable of doing."

This is an ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cary Police Department at 919-469-4012.