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MIDVALE -- Midvale police officers are remembering one of their own after a shootout with a burglary suspect Friday night. Koda, a K-9 police dog, was killed after the suspect shot him twice.
"Just a great dog," said Sgt. Marcelo Rapela with the Midvale Police Department. "Really just an aggressive, hardworking dog and he will be missed."
There's a special relationship between a police dog and his handler. Friday night, that relationship blossomed even further with Koda doing his job one last time.
Rapela said, "We believe he gave his life to save his partner and partners -- other officers."
Koda was killed after being shot twice by a burglary suspect he was chasing. His handler and another officer had just turned a corner when the shooting happened.
"Officers returned fire. One of the officer's rounds struck the suspect," said Rapela.
That suspect, 22-year-old Tevita Fisiitalia, later died at the hospital.
He [Koda] did indeed give his life for his partner.
–- Sgt. Marcelo Rapela
This case started when Midvale police got a burglary call at a house near 6700 South and 600 East around 8:30 Friday night.
Officers arrived to find four suspects inside a car. Along with Fisiitalia, police found 33-year-old Clinton Peterson, 28-year-old Charles Wright and an unidentified female.
Peterson was arrested right away, but the others ran. Wright went back into the house police were called to.
"Once officers made visual contact with him through a slider and determined he was their suspect, they were able to gain entry through that back slider and take him into custody," said Rapela.
As for Koda, he was 3 1/2 years old, spending the past year and a half with the department. Investigators said Koda most likely kept Fisiitalia from shooting at other officers.
"It's always a close call," said Chief Tony Mason with the Midvale Police Department. "I mean, obviously they feared for their lives and that's why this occurred."
Both officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave while the case is worked out, but police say one thing is clear -- Koda died doing his job.
"The handler is having a tough time. This relationship between our K-9 handlers and our dogs is a close one," said Rapela. "He did indeed give his life for his partner."
The police department is planning a memorial service for Koda. They said they consider him an officer just like any other officer.
The two other suspects remain in jail facing various charges. Investigators are still trying to find the 4th suspect -- the woman who ran away.
Fisiitalia has a long criminal history that has put him in the news before. Just this November, police said hedrove a car through a man's garage during a police chase.
He was later charged with several crimes relating to that incident.
Officials at the time told KSL Fisiitalia also had a history that included abduction and assaulting a prisoner.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
