Met Police dog dies after chasing down moped thieves
A police dog has sadly died while on duty after chasing down two moped thieves.
Six-year-old Xavier Charles, better known as Stanley, collapsed while on patrol with his handler in London in the early hours of Sunday morning.
A Met Police spokesman said Stanley, who competed in the national police dog trials in 2019, had been involved in 280 charges over his career.
The “larger than life character” was described as “one of the very best police dogs”.
The Met Police Taskforce said it believed he died from heart failure.
Taskforce Commander Karen Findlay said: “Whilst this is still very raw, we have been asked to share this sad news to not only remember this wonderful, faithful and loyal friend but also to highlight the amazing work Stanley and his other canine heroes do to keep us all safe.
“Rest easy Stan, you have left your mark on our world and you will live long in the memory of so many who had the pleasure to know you.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">as a general purpose and firearms support dog alongside PD Stella, his best friend & handler, PC Williams. <br>A larger than life character, Stan loved to work and amassed over 280 results in his shorter than average career & making it to the national police dog trials in 2019. 2/3</p>— Met Police Taskforce (@MetTaskforce) <a href="https://twitter.com/MetTaskforce/status/1530092039886479360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>