Spokane County deputy shoots dog attacking him and K9 Laslo

A Spokane County deputy shot and killed a pit bull that was attacking him and his police dog early Tuesday morning, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Deputy Jeff Thurman was working with his K9, Laslo, and other law enforcement officers at about 12:20 a.m. to arrest Gary B. Olive, who was wanted on a felony warrant, in the 8000 block of East Alki Avenue.

Deputies heard dogs barking in the home and asked the wanted man and another resident to come out without the dogs. They complied. However, a woman exited the front of the home and left the door open and did not comply with commands to close it, the news release said. Two dogs, which the sheriff’s office said appeared to be pit bulls, escaped the home and charged Laslo and Thurman, according to the news release.

Thurman and the two men who earlier left the home tried unsuccessfully to pull the dogs away or get them to stop by kicking them, according to the news release. At one point, one of the dogs bit Thurman’s leg while the other attacked Laslo’s neck.

Thurman then shot the dog attacking Laslo. The dog ran off and soon died, the sheriff’s office said. One of the men at the home soon brought the other dog under control.

Laslo, who was wearing a ballistic vest, was uninjured in the attack. Thurman suffered a puncture wound to his leg.

The woman who opened the door, Aldina Bajramovic, 21, had an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor charge and was booked into the Spokane County Jail. Olive also was taken to jail.