BiteDB
Last updated Sep 3, 2026 · 10:58 PM CT
BiteDB / Incidents / GA
Police-reported incident record · 2026-10-14

Off-duty Columbus police K-9 handler undergoes surgery after reported attack; police dog dies

Columbus Police say an off-duty officer was seriously injured by the K-9 assigned to that officer on October 14; police have not released wound details or the cause of the dog’s death.

Serious injury · surgery; human nonfatalBreed: Unknown / not reportedColumbus, GA
Date2026-10-14 · Wednesday morning; exact time not released
LocationColumbus, Georgia; precise site of off-duty incident not disclosed
Victim(s)One off-duty Columbus Police Department officer, the K-9’s assigned handler; identity not publicly reported
Dogs involvedOne recently assigned Columbus Police Department K-9 still in active training; dog died during the incident. How or why the dog died was not disclosed.
Injury severitySerious nonfatal attack injuries requiring surgery; the department expects the officer to recover. Specific wounds and whether each injury was a bite were not disclosed.
Breed attributionUnknown / not reported — The Columbus Police Department identified the animal as an assigned K-9 undergoing training but did not report its breed in the reviewed WTVM or WJCL coverage. No breed is inferred from police-dog assignment.
What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Columbus Police said an off-duty officer was seriously injured Wednesday morning, October 14, 2026, in an attack involving the officer’s recently assigned K-9, which was still training with the handler. The officer required surgery and was expected to recover. Police said the dog died during the incident but did not explain its death or the circumstances that precipitated the attack. The department said the investigation was ongoing. WTVM and WJCL reported the police statement; no independent medical, veterinary, body-camera or investigative findings were reviewed. BiteDB records the police-reported dog attack and does not infer breed, specific bite wounds, dog-death mechanism or fault.

Unresolved circumstances

Columbus Police said the incident was under investigation. No cause of the dog’s death, rule violation, disciplinary finding or legal responsibility has been established by the reviewed reporting.

Media & source coverage

Reporting and source material

BiteDB links to original publisher reports; it does not rehost unlicensed publisher photos or video.

Source provenance

Primary report used by BiteDB

WTVM — CPD officer injured, K9 dead after attacking handler off duty, police sayLocal television newsroom report based on an October 15 Columbus Police Department statement; incident details remain under investigation · Published 2026-10-15 · Accessed 2026-10-16

WTVM reported Columbus Police said the attack occurred while the handler was off duty Wednesday morning, the officer suffered severe injuries requiring surgery and was expected to recover, and the recently added K-9 in training died. Police did not explain the cause of the dog’s death or the attack.

Open original source ↗

Additional reporting

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

High confidence that Columbus Police publicly reported a serious off-duty handler injury requiring surgery and a K-9 death October 14, as independently reported by WTVM and WJCL. Bite wounds were not explicitly itemized; circumstances, exact location, medical treatment details, dog’s breed and manner of death remain unconfirmed.