Procession route for Shepherdsville K-9 killed in line of duty planned for March 27

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The community is invited to honor the Shepherdsville K-9 that was shot and killed in the line of duty last week while chasing a suspect.

"K-9 Dash gave the ultimate sacrifice by doing what he was trained to do, protecting law enforcement officers and the public, from a volatile situation on the night of March 9, 2022," the Shepherdsville Fraternal Order of Police wrote on Facebook.

It started around 9 p.m. at a Dollar General store in Lebanon Junction, according to a news release from KSP. Police responded to a report of a shoplifter, and when officers arrived, the suspect was standing outside the store "armed with a firearm." He began shooting at officers before taking off on foot.

K-9 Officer Dash was sent after the suspect, who was hiding nearby. As K-9 Dash was "attempting to restrain him, the individual discharged his firearm and struck the K-9." That's when "officers from the Shepherdsville Police Department and Bullitt County Sheriff's Office returned fire, hitting the suspect multiple times." The suspect's name has not been released yet.

Dash died from his injuries.

The FOP said the support, letters and donations "has not gone unnoticed by the department."

The department is inviting the community to line the procession route as police escort Dash to the Paroquet Springs Conference Center. They are asking the public to line Conestoga Parkway, Adam Shepherd Parkway and North Joe B. Hall Avenue.