Officer Who Ended Deadly Taunton Rampage Loses K-9
TAUNTON (CBS) - The law enforcement community is mourning the loss of Rony, the police dog of Plymouth County Deputy Sheriff James Creed, who heroically ended a Taunton rampage in 2016.
"RIP K-9 Rony, you served the community well. We are sorry for your loss Lt. Creed," the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Rony worked alongside Creed to fight crime, although the K-9 was not with the off-duty deputy sheriff when Creed thwarted a violent attack inside the Silver City Galleria mall on May 10, 2016.
Creed fatally shot Arthur DaRosa, who went on a stabbing rampage in Taunton, while having dinner inside the Bertucci's in the Taunton mall that day.
DaRosa had stabbed two people at a home in Taunton, drove to the mall, crashed the car into the Macy's entrance and assaulted people there before stabbing more people inside the Bertucci's.
Two people died in the attacks.
Patricia Slavin, 80, was killed in her home. George Heath, 56, was stabbed to death in Bertucci's while trying to fend off DaRosa.
Creed, in an exclusive interview with WBZ-TV, later downplayed heroics, calling George Heath the hero.
Creed later trained a new police dog within the department, and named the K-9 Heath, in George's honor.
Rony is the latest K-9 to pass away in the region.
On Saturday, the Brockton Police Department lost Koda, the K-9 partner of Officer Darvin Anderson, when the dog died during emergency surgery.
"Koda was 7 1/2, served the @BrocktonPolice with distinction for 6 years," Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter said in a tweet.