DENVER — Nearly a year after an impaired driving suspect shot and killed one of their K9s, Jefferson County wants to make the punishment for that crime tougher.
On Feb. 13, 2023, JeffCo deputies said they responded to a call of a possibly impaired driver at the Colorado School of Mines. They said the suspect ended up shooting and killing Deputy Zachary Oliver’s K9, Graffit.
Deputy Oliver and lead K9 trainer Jim Valbert testified at the state Capitol this week to testify for justice for Graffit, and any other K9s killed in the line of duty. The legislation adds more prison time for those found guilty, increasing from a range of one month to a year and a half, up to a range of two to six years. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has pushed for the legislation before, but this week is the furthest they've gotten. It passed the Judiciary House Committee, and now moves to the Senate.
Graffit answered as many as 100 calls per year with Deputy Oliver.
“He loved coming to work, nothing got him more excited that putting that collar in my hand,” Deputy Oliver said.
But a call on Feb. 13th, 2023, at Colorado School of Mines would be the K9's last.
“We heard Golden police was asking for assistance,” Deputy Oliver said. “They just had a suspect that was possibly impaired behind the wheel of a car….He pointed a handgun at one of the officers so the officers dove out of the way to not be shot, and the suspect fled toward the School of Mines campus, which is in Golden...Graffit was on a 30’ lead and he went down. I knew he had odor because he was pulling really hard. He was excited, he knew he found something. You can just tell when the dog has something because they really, really, really want to move fast. And unfortunately, that’s when the gunshots started ringing out. Graffit was shot directly in the heart with one 9mm bullet.”
Deputy Oliver misses his best friend.
“He had such a good ‘on’ and ‘off’ switch,” Deputy Oliver said. “When he was at work, he would do his job, but he would come home and just be a loving animal.”
He finds comfort in knowing Graffit's death was not in vain.
“Knowing that that bullet was meant for me or my partners, that means that his sacrifice, there was something to it,” Deputy Oliver said.
He can't wrap his head around the charge for the person who allegedly pulled the trigger: aggravated cruelty to animals.
“It was hard for me to just stand there and say ‘this is all that someone would get for killing a police K9?’”
“Colorado actually had one of the most lax statutes for canines. There really was no protection at all for police K9s,” said Deputy Valbert. “Now with this House Bill 24-1074, we are actually including a subsection of aggravated cruelty to animals that deals with law enforcement animals. Incredibly happy we have done everything to try to get this bill passed.”
As the legislation moves through the Capitol, the sheriff's office hopes this means Graffit's legacy lives on, because family is forever.
“So if I change the footprint of a K9 in the future, it means a lot to me because I know that Graffit sacrificed himself for more than just saving my life,” Deputy Oliver said.
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