Shepherdsville police receive generous donation in honor of fallen K-9 officer

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Wednesday marks one week since Shepherdsville K-9, Dash, was shot and killed in the line of duty while chasing a robbery suspect.

Since then, the community has rallied around the department, showing their support and sharing their condolences.

Officer Jeff Schank, Dash’s handler, thanked the community on Tuesday for the support he and the department have received.

”The only thing I could say is the outpouring from the community, the state and country has been unbelievable to say the least,” Officer Jeff Schank said. “From the bottom of my heart and my families heart thank you so much for everything.”

On March 9th, Schank and Dash responded to a robbery call at a Dollar General in Lebanon Junction. Officers said Dash was shot by the suspect, whose name has not been released. Dash died at the scene, a hero. No officers were hurt.

This loss has been felt by many, including Ryan Williams.

“My grandpa was a Kentucky State Trooper, so this is near and dear to my heart,” Williams said.

Williams is the owner of SBM Logistics, a freight shipping and trucking company based out of Bardstown. On Tuesday, he made a large donation to the Shepherdsville Police Department.

”$15,000, hopefully that will get you going,” Williams said.

Shepherdsville Police Chief Rick McCubbin said it costs around $15,000 to get a new K-9. The department is in need of two.

”We had four on the books, one recently retired,” McCubbins said. “Of course what happened to Dash, we went from four to two very quickly. We were in the process of trying to replace the retired when this happened. This is tremendous and this will help us move even quicker now that we have this. We didn’t ask, we can’t ask. People have just come by that hate what happened and they know the value of a K-9.”

Dash will never be forgotten for giving up his life to save his fellow officers.

”It takes a tragedy to bring people together but, it’s not in vain that’s for sure,” McCubbin said.

Chief McCubbin said Dash was not wearing protective gear due to the urgency of the situation but said it would not have made a difference because of where the dog was hit.

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