By Joanna Putman
Police1
DENVER — A Denver Sheriff’s Department K-9 will not be euthanized as originally planned following an investigative report and community concerns, Denver7 reported.
Sheriff Elias Diggins reviewed the situation after a community member voiced concerns about the fate of K-9 Riggs, a Belgian Malinois trained for the department’s explosives and narcotics division. Diggins announced he decided not to euthanize Riggs on April 24, according to the report.
“I think it takes a community to really bring issues to light. And we appreciate the fact that everyone involved had some concern,” Diggins said. “And we’re glad that this is the path that’s going forward.”
Riggs, who joined the K-9 unit in November 2023, had been showing signs of aggression, such as growling and snapping at his handler’s family, which initially led to the decision to euthanize him.
“We’ve since rethought that,” Diggins stated. “When we got the call that [Denver7] was looking into this… I said, let’s look at this differently. And I made the decision to move in a different direction. … We appreciate all of the folks that were concerned with the path that we were going down.”
The department is now seeking alternatives for Riggs, such as working with partners and law enforcement rescues that specialize in rehoming dogs like him, according to the report.
“We love our dogs. We love them,” Diggins stated. “We all consider every single person who works here, along with our K-9s, members of the greater law enforcement family. And so we don’t take these decisions lightly at all. In fact, they weigh on us heavily.”
