A Polk County Sheriff's Office K-9 is being treated at an emergency veterinary clinic after being shot during a deputy-involved shooting in Kathleen that also left a suspect dead. Deputies involved in the encounter were reported safe, according to the sheriff's office, though officials have not said when exactly the shooting happened or what led up to it.
The shooting unfolded in the Rushing Road area of Kathleen as deputies attempted to serve an arrest warrant, according to local media scanner reports cited by The Daily Ridge. Gunfire broke out during that warrant attempt, resulting in the suspect's death and the wounding of the sheriff's K-9, per those scanner reports. As reported by Tampa Bay 28, officials have not released the suspect's identity or additional details about what led to the shooting.
The 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force is now investigating the case, per Tampa Bay 28's report. That task force operates as a multi-agency independent investigative body covering Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties whenever law enforcement officers discharge firearms resulting in death or injury, a protocol that keeps PCSO's own staff from investigating its deputies' use of force. Under Florida's Marsy's Law provisions, agencies in Polk County routinely withhold the identities of deputies involved in shootings for at least 72 hours to protect officer privacy and safety, which helps explain why no deputy names have surfaced yet.
A Second Fatal Encounter in Days
The Kathleen shooting comes just three days after Polk County deputies fatally shot 46-year-old Larry Renaldo Riles in a Lakeland grocery store parking lot, according to the Tampa Free Press. In that case, an automated license plate reader flagged an outstanding probation violation warrant for Riles, and deputies opened fire after he reached for a stolen handgun, the outlet reported. Hoodline previously covered that shooting in its Lakeland Officer-Involved Shooting report.
The Kathleen incident marks the latest in a cluster of deputy-involved shootings across Polk County this summer. On July 13, a Polk County Sheriff's sergeant shot a domestic violence suspect in Auburndale after the man drove a large truck head-on into the sergeant's patrol cruiser during an active emergency response, according to WTSP. Days before that, on July 10, deputies and Auburndale police officers shot and killed an armed homicide suspect in a Spectrum parking lot after he fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and pointed a firearm at responding officers, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said at the time — an incident Hoodline covered in its report on gunfire in the Spectrum lot.
Institutional Weight Behind an Injured K-9
An injured K-9 carries particular institutional weight within the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The agency opened its new Matt Williams and Diogi K-9 Training Center in Bartow in June, a state-of-the-art facility built to train law enforcement canine units across the county, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. The center honors Deputy Vernon Matthew Williams and his K-9 partner Diogi, who were both fatally shot in Lakeland during a 2006 foot pursuit — one of the most prominent line-of-duty losses in Polk County history, per the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Under Florida Statute § 843.19, updated through a 2023 law, intentionally using a deadly weapon against or inflicting great bodily harm on a police canine is classified as a felony carrying severe criminal penalties, according to Pumphrey Law. Because the suspect in the Kathleen shooting was killed, it remains unclear whether any such charge would have applied had the encounter ended differently.
What Remains Unknown
Much about the Kathleen shooting is still unconfirmed. Officials have not released the suspect's identity, the exact timing of the encounter, or additional details about what led deputies to open fire, per Tampa Bay 28's reporting. The condition and prognosis of the wounded K-9 have also not been detailed beyond confirmation that the dog is being treated at an emergency veterinary clinic.
The 10th Judicial Circuit task force's investigation is expected to eventually produce more information, following the same review process used after last month's Auburndale shootings. Hoodline has covered several of Polk County's other officer-involved shootings this year, including an April incident detailed in its report on the Lakeland Loop shooting and a 2025 standoff in Poinciana. Hoodline will continue following the Kathleen case as the task force's findings become available.
