Fontana Police dog thrown out of second story window.

UPDATE: Police dog continues to make an "amazing" recovery after being thrown out of a second-story window during apprehension of suspect, police say
http://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/articles/2013/04/03/news/doc5159ba6feed0b188328571.txt

K9 Jaris plays with a ball on Tuesday afternoon while recovering from a fall out of a second-story window. (Herald News photo by Russell Ingold)
By RUSSELL INGOLD
Published: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 5:34 PM PDT
A police dog that was injured after being thrown out of a second-story window in Fontana is making an “amazing” recovery, his handlers said.

While helping Fontana Police Department officers capture a wanted parolee last Sunday, K9 Jaris suffered a large laceration on his head when he fell onto the concrete below a residence.

But remarkably, Jaris did not endure any major injuries and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Sgt. Tom Yarrington, who oversees the Fontana K-9 Unit.

“When I heard what happened to him, I didn’t think we’d be here looking at him right now,” Yarrington said Tuesday while watching Jaris play with a ball next to his partner, Officer Steve Bechtold, outside the Police Department. “It’s amazing how good he’s doing. He’s tough.”

Jaris still is a “little slow, but personality-wise, he’s fine,” Yarrington said. “He’s an outstanding dog.”

The dog, which has been with the Fontana P.D. for four years, suffered no broken bones or bruising of internal organs in the fall, Yarrington said. Jaris will undergo some more tests on Saturday, and hopefully will be back at work next week.

Yarrington said the incident was “just a horrible, tragic event, unlike anything we’ve ever seen here in Fontana.”

The incident began at about 12:30 p.m., when police received a call regarding a wanted armed and dangerous parolee being at a residence in the 9500 block of Mango Avenue.

Several officers responded to the location to attempt to locate the wanted man, who was identified as Bryan Bills, a 28-year-old resident of Fontana.

Upon their arrival, the officers contacted a female resident who told them that Bills had been at the location but had possibly already left. While speaking to her, the officers could hear someone moving upstairs, even though they had been told no one else was in the house. The officers were given permission to search the house.

The officers made numerous announcements that they would be searching the house with a police dog and then began their search for the wanted man. As they went upstairs, an officer who was outside saw Bills trying to climb out of an upstairs window and alerted the officers inside the house.

Bills still refused to surrender to the officers. Because Bills was possibly armed and dangerous, the decision was made to send the dog into the room, police said.

After entering the room, Jaris ran toward Bills to try to subdue him. Bills pushed Jaris, and using Jaris' momentum Bills threw the dog out of the open second-story window, police said. Jaris was not able to stop himself and fell to the concrete below.

Bills then continued to fight with officers, but he was eventually subdued, police said.

Meanwhile, Bechtold, the dog’s partner, ran to help him, not knowing his condition. The dog, which was bleeding from the nose and staggering about, was rushed to the veterinarian for treatment.

Bills was arrested on charges of intentional injury to a police service dog, resisting an officer with force, and parole violations. He was booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Yarrington said Jaris has been working both in patrol and in explosive detection cases. He is such a reliable dog that he had been used previously to help provide security for high-profile individuals, including former President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama, Yarrington said.

Yarrington said he is thrilled by all the community support Jaris has received. More than 8,000 people have wished the dog well on Facebook.

“Now he just wants to get back to work,” Yarrington said.

Yarrington said the incident was “just a horrible, tragic event, unlike anything we’ve ever seen here in Fontana.”

Far more horrible than teenage girls getting shot and killed in drive by shootings? Or do only police and police dogs count?