On April 17th, 1996 just prior to 2:04 a.m., Patrol Officers D. Defatte and A. Carlin, were engaged in a traffic stop at 30th Street and Cactus, when they were advised by a citizen of a subject with a gun nearby. The officers located this subject who appeared to be carrying a rifle case and attempted to contact him. The subject, later identified as Jackson James Doss, W/M,
DOB 12-15-71, ran from the officers to the houses on the south side of Cactus Road.
As Officer Defatte, still in his vehicle, attempted to follow Doss to maintain sight of him, Doss fired numerous rounds at him with a semi-automatic 9mm handgun. Five of the rounds struck Officer Defatte's police vehicle. Officer Defatte was not injured.
Doss ran into the yards of houses immediate to the area to elude capture. A police perimeter was quickly established. After the initial shots were fired, the resident at 2929 E. Cactus called 9-1-1 advising there was a subject with a gun in his backyard. Officers evacuated the residents and surrounded the house while Officer Kozel and K-9 Hunter responded to the rear yard. At approximately 2:25 a.m., Hunter was released off-lead after alerting to Doss in the backyard. Doss had by this time armed himself with the rifle he was carrying, a mini-14 carbine which fires a .223 caliber bullet. Hunter located Doss in the backyard, but was shot five times by Doss at point blank range. Doss then fired several more times at the arcadia glass door so that entry could be made into the house. Hunter was able to bite Doss in the hand before returning to his handler, Officer Jeff Kozel. Hunter was obviously critically wounded. While other officers continued the surveillance of the residence, Hunter was transported for medical treatment.
Just prior to 8:00 a.m., Doss, who had forced entry into the residence at 2929 E. Cactus, surrendered to S.A.U. officers. He was treated for numerous cuts to his arms and hand. He was charged with numerous felonies resulting from this incident. When interviewed, Doss invoked after telling investigators that he was under the influence of methamphetamines.
Hunter did not survive his injuries. He is credited with preventing serious injury and/or death to the officers immediate to the area for Doss' capture.
Hunter's value to the Department will be missed. Hunter was put in service on October 23rd, 1991. His primary function was to apprehend major felony offenders. Recently, Hunter was certified as a narcotic canine. In his career with the Department, Hunter was responsible for 686 searches and 94 felony arrests. He was able to find several crime scenes and pieces of evidence that would have been difficult for investigators to find. It is next to impossible to ascertain how many injuries and/or lives were spared because of Hunter.
There are several highlights to Hunter's career. One of the most memorable is the finding and capture of the suspect responsible for the gunning down of two Phoenix Police officers on June 30th, 1992. These two officers are Dave Logan and Marla Wasser. Both of these officers suffered permanent physical injuries. Dave Logan will never return to full duty.
Hunter is the first canine to receive the Canine Medal of Valor.
Officer Jeff Kozel is currently a handler in the unit with a Belgian Malinois
named “Doc”.
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