K9 Krash euthanized after retiring from Hanford Police Department

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- K9 Officer Krash started his service in May of 2019 at the Hanford Police Department.

But his euthanasia in January of 2024 has left many questions unanswered.

Community members, like Dionicia Parks, say they are at a loss overhearing the devastating news.

"It's just so sad it's sad that he was put down with not every option exhausted for him," says Dionicia of Hanford.

She is heartbroken over the death of the retired Hanford Police K9.

She found out about Krash's euthanasia in a now-deleted Facebook post and shared her concerns at a recent city council meeting.

She now keeps photos of Krash in her home as a reminder of her mission to be his voice, "That dog didn't have a voice, it didn't have an advocate for it."

The City of Hanford says Krash joined the department in May 2019 and retired in October 2022 due to medical reasons.

The Belgian Malinois was put down on January 31. He was seven years old.

"The person or people that demanded this dog to be put down have a really long story with God, they have to face judgment for that," Dionicia mentions.

The City says Krash's handler was caring for him up until two months ago.

Before that, they worked with the department's K9 Handlers to reach a "Conditions of Canine Acceptance" agreement, which sets specific requirements for keeping a retired police dog.

In a statement, the city says quote:

"Krash's handler notified the City that they could not agree to such terms and therefore would relinquish the K-9 to the City of Hanford. After considering options, none of which resulted in a safe post-retirement situation, the City made the difficult but necessary decision to put Krash to sleep."

We reached out to Krash's handler who is unable to comment on the matter.

The city also shared that Krash was previously involved in an on-duty biting incident of a bystander, but he continued to work for the department afterwards.

Dionicia believes the K9 that was trained to serve and protect should not have been euthanized after dedicating years of his life to the department. She says she's even reached out to rescues that would have taken him in.

"The facts need to come out, the truth needs to come out, because anyone can make a statement. But we want the truth, we want documentation, we want the facts to come out," says Dionicia.

The City says all of the department's other current K9 handlers agreed to the conditions of the new document.

The statement also refers to the tragedy involving a retired Exeter K9, which killed a woman and wounded her neighbor in Grover Beach.

That 2016 case led to a lawsuit with a $20 million verdict.

But Dionica believes killing Krash was not the right way to prevent a similar situation.

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