Jan. 12--Midlothian's police chief said Sunday that he wasn't being serious when he made comments last month that he might shoot the department's police dog.
Chief Harold Kaufman said the comments, which were made public over the weekend, followed the resignation of the suburban department's K9 officer, who had quit the day before Christmas Eve.
Kaufman said his words, which he said Sunday were out of line, reflected his exasperation in trying to find a new home for the dog, named Biko.
"I have to house our dog real soon," Kaufman told an Oak Forest Police dispatcher, according to a recording of the call obtained by the Tribune. "Our canine officer just came in and quit on me, so now I'm going to be stuck with either going and shooting the dog and killing it or finding somewhere to put it."
Word of the exchange traveled to Jon Ryczek, the police dog's former partner in Midlothian, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the audio of the call and released it to media Saturday. Ryczek, who now works for another law enforcement agency in Will County, said he has alerted the town's mayor and trustees to his concern about the dog's future.
"I fear for the safety and welfare of Biko while under the supervision of Chief Kaufman and the Village of Midlothian," Ryczek wrote in the email to town officials. Mayor Sharon Rybak did not return messages seeking comment.
Biko is a Belgian Malinois, Ryczek said, who lived with the officer and received full rein of the home while they were together.
Kaufman said the dog was never in danger of being shot and said the whole situation is "something I feel (Ryczek's) trying to blow out of proportion."
"He's upset because he lost his dog," said Kaufman. "He made that decision, not me."
Kaufman said the department hadn't had a police dog for many years before Ryczek lobbied for one. It upset Kaufman that Ryczek would leave the small south suburban department so soon after getting his wish, he said.
Kaufman was also frustrated that Ryczek's decision forced him to work through the holiday, which "destroyed" his Christmas Eve, he said.
Ryczek said Kaufman has suggested that he would kill the dog on other occasions. Kaufman denied ever making other threats against the animal.
The dog is safe, Kaufman said, as the department has found a new handler to take care of the dog. Biko is taking to his new handler "very well," Kaufman said.
gpratt@tribpub.com
Twitter @royalpratt
