South Carolina K-9 Saves Officer, Suspect

GAFFNEY, S.C. --

A police dog is being credited with saving not just the life of a police officer, but also the life of a robbery suspect.

Diesel has been a K-9 officer on the Gaffney police force for about a year. Police said on Tuesday, when an armed robbery suspect pointed a gun at Diesel's partner, the police dog sprang into action.

Officer Ronnie Anderson said, "At the point where the suspect had turned around and pointed the firearm at me, I had pulled my weapon and was coming up online to fire on the subject. And at that exact moment, the subject turned around, the K-9 leaped in the air, hit him in the chest and knocked him down, and he bit him and held him there until we got there. So he saved my life for sure today, but I feel he also saved the suspect's life."

Anderson said, "Had (Diesel) not apprehended him, I would have had no choice but to shoot him."

Police said the suspect, Ryan Townson, 18, was one of three robbers who tried to commit the armed robbery of the Pet-U-Bet store on Floyd Baker Boulevard.

Officers said during the attempted robbery, one of the robbers stuck a gun in employee Barbara Golden's face, but instead of giving him the money, the 72-year-old squirted a hose at him.

Police say the three robbers then ran away, but were spotted shortly after the robbery attempt running down Sarratt Drive. Officers chased them down, and arrested Townson and two other suspects.

It was later learned that one of the weapons was a Glock that had been stolen from a city councilman.

Councilman Bernard Smith, whose gun was used in the robbery, didn't know that his gun was missing. Smith's daughter called him after she heard about the robbery and told him that his gun might have been used in the robbery attempt.

WYFF News 4 has learned that one of the robbery suspects knows the councilman and was staying at his house.

Officers said that the apprehension was Diesel's first.

"He earned his paycheck," Anderson said.