What to Know
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A police dog died and his officer was injured when their car veered off the road during a chase[hhmc]
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The two responded to the scene after a man hit a police officer as he fled a DWI checkpoint in Riverhead[hhmc]
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The K9 unit officer lost control of his car during the chase, veered off the road and hit a utility pole, at which point Rocky was ejected[hhmc]
A police dog died and his officer was injured when their car veered off the road as they were pursuing a man fleeing a DWI checkpoint, authorities said.
The Audi driver was passing through a DWI checkpoint on Peconic Avenue in Riverhead around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday when an officer at the scene told him to stop his car, the Riverhead Police Department said.
But the driver refused to stop, hitting the officer with his car as he drove off, police said.
Several police units — including a K9 unit officer and his police dog Rocky — responded to the scene and started to pursue the Audi driver, the department said.
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The officer and his dog were on West Main Street, west of Raynor Avenue, in Riverhead when he lost control of his car, veered off the road and hit a utility pole, according to the department.
Rocky was ejected from the car and killed during the accident, the department said. The other officers ended up halting the chase in Manorville after deciding it would be too dangerous to keep going.
The officer who was struck by the Audi driver at the checkpoint and the K9 unit officer were both taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
Rocky had worked for the Riverhead Police Department since May 2011, the department said.
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