Crooks ‘Otto’ Learn Not to Mess With Michigan Police Dog

DETROIT, MI — Otto, a German shepherd police dog, is on his way to earning his place among some of the most storied canine officers in the history of the Michigan State Police. He sniffed out more than 1,000 opioid pills in December, found $13,000 in cash in an accused drug dealer’s car a month later and this week, he sent a warning to criminals that if they plan on running from troopers, they’d better wear shin guards.

Otto’s latest collar happened about 10 p.m. Wednesday after a suspect in a chase along Interstate 94 in Detroit crashed into a sign and took off on foot, according to multiple media reports. Otto was in hot pursuit. The suspect crawled under a parked van, and repeatedly kicked the dog in the head and face, police said.

Otto wasn’t fazed. He remembered his training.

“Otto bit the suspect in the left shin and gained control of the suspect,” State Police Lt. Mike Shaw told the Detroit Free Press.

When human officers arrived, the suspect put up a fight “and was pepper-sprayed before relenting,” Shaw told MLive.com.

Everyone came out of the incident unscathed. Neither Otto nor troopers were injured.

The chase was one of two Wednesday night that Shaw said put members of the public in danger. The first began about 8 p.m. when troopers assigned to Detroit's 9th Precinct under the Secure Cities Partnership attempted a stop of a vehicle for a license plate violation, according to a press release.

The pursuit lasted about three minutes until the vehicle “jumped a curb and became disabled in an open lot,” police said.

That suspect fled on foot as well, but troopers quickly caught up with him and he was arrested without incident.

“These are just two more examples of people risking the lives of the public and police by failing to stop for a cop,” Shaw said. “Simple traffic violations were made far worse by these individuals failing to obey the directions of police.”

Photo via Michigan State Police