K9 Riggs with the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department (KSD) has won the American Humane Hero Dog Award for the "Law Enforcement and Detection" category.
According to KSD, the annual and nationwide competition recognizes K9 heroes in seven different categories which will end with a single dog being awarded the American Hero Dog title.
You can vote for K9 Riggs by clicking here.
K9 Riggs is a local hero to the Kenosha County community. He was shot in the line of duty in 2021.
"He's family. He's always been [family]. And you can see he's a sweet dog. And he did his job and he saved my life," K9 Riggs handler, Sheriff's Deputy Terry Tifft, said.
On that day — the day Riggs saved the lives of several deputies, says Tifft — officers had responded to a gas station in Bristol, just west of Kenosha.
According to the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, deputies were there to look for a stolen car and its driver, a man suspected of murder in Chicago that same day.
Deputies found him, and the man attempted to flee, according to the sheriff's department.
But Riggs chased him down and tackled him.
The suspect shot Riggs in the head, and deputies responded by shooting the suspect.
Riggs is a lucky dog. The bullet entered the top of his head and exited out the back, bruising the skull but not fracturing it or hitting any vital parts.
"It is a miracle, it's a great miracle," said Tifft.
In Wisconsin, injuring a police dog is a felony, punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Killing a police dog is punishable by up to 6 years and the same fine.
