As a police K-9, Bane was more than just a work partner for Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Brooks.
Spending eight to 10 hours a day on duty with the 7-year-old Belgian Malinois, Brooks had become as close to the dog as his own family.
So much so that the dog helped Brooks’ son ease his fear of dogs.
“It’s kind of funny to me that this large dog who frequently broke things and knocked everything over during a training session would be the one that would break my 7-year-old autistic son’s crippling fear of dogs,” he said.
“And that’s evident every day now because when I bring my new partner home, my son is no longer afraid to walk past the kennel,” he said.
“Bane did so much for us and for the community,” he said.
Brooks remembered Bane on Thursday in testimony to the House corrections committee, which is considering a bill that toughens the penalties for injuring or killing a police dog.
Law enforcement turned out in force Thursday – along with Oz the police K-9 – seeking more stringent penalties for someone who hurts or kills a police dog.
Bane was killed last year after being strangled to death by a Wichita man who fled police and ran into a large storm drain. A Wichita police K-9 was killed in the line of duty in 2017.
The bill would make harming a police dog that results in disability or death a level four, nonperson felony, which carries sentence of 38 to 43 months in jail without a record.
If the dog is injured or killed during while eluding police, the offense would be a level three nonperson felony, which carries a jail sentence of 55 to 61 months without a record.
The bill also would mandate that someone serve at least 90 days in jail before they would qualify for probation. They also be required to pay a $10,000 minimum fine.
In addition, the bill requires restitution, including the cost for veterinary medical treatment,
reasonable funeral and burial expenses and replacement of the police dog.
The offender would also be subject to a psychological evaluation and an anger management program.
The current statute calls for not less than 30 days in prison, and fines no less than $500 and no more than $5,000.
Lenexa Police Sgt. Ryan Sumner, the regional director for the National Police Canine Association, spent 16 years as a K-9 handler.
Sumner said the dogs play an important role in law enforcement, whether it’s looking for missing children and seniors, hunting down suspects, sniffing out drugs or searching for explosives. Their speed, hearing, night vision and sense of smell are superior to humans’.
“They save citizens’ and police officers’ lives daily when searching for suspects that committed violent crimes or a missing elder or a missing child that need to be found because it’s too cold outside,” Sumner said.
“They’re courageous, loyal and do all the above tasks mentioned for just a little bit of praise: a pat on the head, good boy, good girl,” he said. “That’s the only reason they do it, just for praise from mom or dad, whoever their handler is.”
Sumner said it’s not easy to replace a police K-9. He estimates that it can cost $18,000 to replace the dogs and send them through training.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins sat in on the testimony Thursday, explaining why he wanted a bill introduced addressing the issue. He promised quick action.
“A K-9 dog, a K-9 partner is a partner,” Hawkins said. “These people put their lives on the line and these service animals put their lives on the line and it truly becomes a family.”
Brooks told lawmakers about the importance that police dogs play in law enforcement.
“These dogs are amazing animals, and they serve our law enforcement departments as invaluable resources,” he said.
“They detect crimes. They locate people. And save lives,” he said.
He related an incident in 2023 when authorities surrounded an armed suspect, who told police he would force them to shoot him before he would be apprehended.
Bane apprehended the man and dragged him away from the weapon, ending the need for authorities to use lethal force in the standoff.
“Bane and I were personally thanked by the man’s family for pulling him away from the knife so we did not have the need to use lethal force,” he said.
“That man lived to see another day because of Bane,” he said.
Brooks recalled the day that Bane was killed in the line of duty chasing a suspect into a sewer drain that was too dangerous for officers.
Brooks said Bane pursued the suspect into a space where officers would have had to crawl on their bellies for 200 to 300 feet and left them vulnerable.
“Although losing Bane was very difficult for me personally, it was even more difficult for my kids,” Brooks said.
“That afternoon when I returned home, I had to sit down with my kids and explain to them that Bane was not coming home that day,” he said.
Brooks keeps several photos and mementos of Bane to remember him.
“Both of my sons see these items daily and frequently say, ‘I wish Bane was still here.’
“They’re not alone in that. I wish that Bane was still here.”
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