Two police officers and a police dog practising how to apprehend a suspect in a forest setting. The arrestee is also in the picture.
Police dog with its handler climbing up a staircase.
I managed to survive with nothing worse than mental anguish. All the work I had done with Late was not in vain. My dog did what he was supposed to do. On top of that, he probably saved my life and that of my patrol partner. You can hardly ask any more of a dog. Excerpt from Päivi Romppainen’s book ‘Vainun varassa’, about Constable Jyrki Laulajainen and the police dog Late.
When we talk about police officers killed in the line of duty, we should not forget their faithful companions, the service dogs. The loss of a service dog leaves a deep scar. A dog handler trains and works with their companion for years, but above all, the dog has been a beloved member of the family. The loss of such a colleague is naturally painful. While grateful for their own survival, the dog handler also mourns the loss of their faithful companion.
In 2025, there are around 250 police dogs of various breeds. Most of them are Belgian Shepherds, which are also known as Malinois. Police dogs can be used to investigate drugs, dead bodies and fires, in addition to patrol roles. The dog’s strong sense of smell, its centuries of breeding as a human companion, its ability to cope with work tasks, and its ability to learn are the most important reasons why dogs are currently and will probably continue to be important police colleagues. It takes about three years to train a police dog.
Finland’s first police dogs were acquired in 1909 for the Helsinki Police Department. The police have had dogs at their disposal ever since. Various localities have had training activities since 1919. Today, dog handlers are trained at the Police Dog Training Centre of the Police University College. The training centre has operated on the same site in Rinkelinmäki, Hämeenlinna, since 1927.
The police dog has earned its place
Although today’s police use a wide range of technology in their work, the dog is an important tool. Police dogs perform approximately 11,000 different tasks per year in various situations, and it has been estimated that they save around ten human lives each year. In many police tasks, dogs are more efficient and cost-effective than technological solutions. The dog also plays an important role as an instrument of force. Police dogs are trained and used judiciously, and special protective equipment can reduce the risks they face. Protective vests for police dogs were introduced in 2016 and are now available to all patrol dogs.
The police have had numerous occasions where the use or mere threat of a dog has averted greater danger to the public or to the police themselves. When a dog is used, there is a risk of it being injured or killed. For example, it could get hurt due to the terrain or a suspect could use violence against the dog.
When using a dog, it is important to be aware that it is an animal with its own customs and habits, which can be identified through training and experience. Using a police dog in work situations requires continuous professional cooperation to ensure that the impacts are predictable and reasonable, taking into account all the circumstances, in order to achieve the right result.
When it comes to investigating the deaths of dogs in the line of duty, we still only have access to incomplete data, so there is no full list of police dogs who have been killed and injured in the line of duty. The list will be updated in this respect. The list below was made on 29 September 2025.
Dogs killed in the line of duty
There are several cases of police dogs losing their lives in the line of duty, some of which are reported below.
- Police dog Saku was killed on 24/25 August 1975 in Helsinki during a standoff at Villa Villinki. A drug offender had barricaded himself inside the villa. Saku was sent in. The offender shot Saku five times, and the dog died. The perpetrator was eventually shot in the shoulder and arrested.
- Police dog Lex was killed on a mission on Christmas Eve 1975. Lex and his supervisor, Constable Veikko Ylönen, were investigating burglaries at high-end houses in Westend, Espoo. During a pursuit, Lex was shot and killed by the burglars. The perpetrators were caught and convicted of animal cruelty for killing the dog. Lex was a well-known police dog, the first to operate in Espoo, and had captured more than 100 suspects. According to Constable Ylönen, the ambush of the dog was a premeditated and planned act, possibly with the intention of killing him.
- Police dog Late died in the line of duty on 27 April 1992. Late and dog handler Jyrki Laulajainen were investigating a suspected burglary on Siltavoudintie in Helsinki when the burglars opened fire on them. Constable Laulajainen shot at the burglars, and the situation ended with the arrest of the wounded thief. Late died on the operating table of a small animal hospital.
- Police dog Hero had to be put down in September 2001 after being injured during a standoff in the village of Marikka in Kuusankoski. When the police broke into the house, shots were fired from a shotgun. One police officer was wounded, and Hero was badly injured by the bullets. The dog handler had to put Hero down. The shooter was arrested following a long standoff.
- Police dog Sakke was killed in Vaasa in June 2002 when he was stabbed in the side during an arrest. Sakke later died of his injuries.
- Police dog Xando was killed in Porvoo in July 2002 during a standoff at a petrol station. A man armed with a pump-action shotgun had barricaded himself inside the petrol station and threatened to blow it up. Xando was sent in and grabbed the man by the arm. The man fatally shot the dog with his shotgun. The shooting was shown on TV news and caused a huge stir. The man was eventually apprehended having been shot in the thigh.
- Police dog Täsmä died on duty on 12 November 2020 in Sipoo when he was involved in the apprehension of two wanted persons. Täsmä was used in a confined space in the target apartment, from which he escaped. Once outside, he attacked the person he thought was his target, who turned out to be a police officer. The police officer was forced to use their service weapon to subdue, and Täsmä later died in an animal hospital. Commenting on the case in the Iltasanomat newspaper on 14 November 2020, Chief Inspector Jussi Huhtela said: “A very unfortunate incident, but we must remember that a police dog is ultimately an instrument of force – and also an animal.”
Dogs injured in the line of duty
Police dogs have also suffered several incidents of violence in their careers. Lex, for example, was shot before the fatal incident in December 1975. Here are some examples of other cases:
- In spring 2000, a man with mental health problems struck a police dog with a billhook, rendering him unconscious. The police shot the man, who died of his injuries.
- A burglar hit a police dog Jasse with a camping axe in Korpilahti in September 2000. The incident occurred while the dog was apprehending the burglar, who was behaving aggressively. Jasse was wounded.
- Police dog Pultti was shot in Varkaus in January 2012, when police surrounded an armed man in an apartment building. The man fired a handgun into the hallway of the apartment building, hitting Pultti below the eye and fracturing his jawbone. Pultti recovered from the injury.
- Police dog Börje was critically wounded in a stabbing in August 2016 in Loviisa. The perpetrator was a man who had escaped from hospital and stabbed Börje in the side. Börje survived, recovered and returned to work.