The manhunt for escaped convict Danilo Cavalcante came to an end early yesterday morning with the fugitive’s arrest, and the hero of the hour has been named as none other than a four-year-old police dog called Yoda.
Thanks to the canine’s intervention, Cavalcante, who escaped from Chester County Prison in Pennsylvania almost two weeks ago, was apprehended with no shots fired, bringing an end to a fortnight of worry on the parts of local residents.
There have been numerous reported sightings of Cavalcante over the past week, while the 34-year-old had stolen a rifle from a nearby residence late on Monday night. He reportedly had the rifle with him when he was re-arrested.
Cavalcante was convicted just last month of killing his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, while he is also wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil. He made headlines around the world on August 31 after crab-walking upwards between two walls to make his escape.
As per CNN, the fugitive was sleeping when police finally located him at around 8 a.m.. Upon waking he tried to flee by crawling through thick underbrush, which is when the tactical teams on hand made the decision to deploy four-year-old Belgian Malinois Yoda.
“He was just essential as far as the tracking and searching, as were numerous other K-9s that were here,” said Robert Clark, supervisory deputy US Marshal for Pennsylvania’s eastern district.
“All these K-9 resources were utilized from different tactical teams from the area, and they were just incredible resources.”
According to Clark, Yoda is known as a “bite and hold” dog, meaning that he is specially trained to hold down suspects until a handler orders him off. In this case, Yoda bit Cavalcante on his scalp, before biting him again in the “lower extremity area” to keep him down.
Lt. Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police added: “When the dog got to him, he then went flat with the dog on him – the dog was able to detain him there. I was told the rifle was within arm’s length.”
Cavalcante continued to resist, but thanks to Yoda’s actions officers were able to move in safely and take him into custody without firing a shot.
“They don’t just keep biting and releasing or trying to cause additional injury,” Bivens explained of the K-9 dogs.
“They simply grab onto and try and hold that person in place until officers can get there. There are officers close by who can then move in, the handler can Immediately pull the dog back off… and then officers take over from there.”
I think the people of Chester County will sleep more soundly tonight! What a hero this dog is, and indeed all the other brave K-9s out there! If you liked this article, check out the pit bull rescued from a dog fighting ring that became a K-9 police dog!
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