Police dogs and their handlers came to the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina to advocate for a bill that would increase penalties for killing or injuring police dogs on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Ashford/SC Daily Gazette.)
COLUMBIA — Sgt. Warren Cavanagh still remembers every smell, sound, and gun shot from Dec. 16, 2011.
That’s the day his police dog Fargo was shot and killed by an armed robbery suspect, the Richland County Sheriff’s officer told a House panel Wednesday.
Cavanagh said he sat with his beloved dog in the back of a patrol car headed to an animal hospital going about 100 mph, then assisted the emergency veterinarian who cut Fargo open in an attempt to save his life.
“I wouldn’t wish that on anybody,” he told a room packed with other officers and their police dogs.
“If you ask any of these handlers – they are not just dogs. They are not just tools,” he said. His wife, Richland County Maj. Anna Cavanagh, stood silently beside him as he spoke, often looking down as her eyes welled with tears.
“On the softer side of things, if they have a family, that family is leaning on that dog heavily to bring their officer home alive,” Sgt. Cavanagh said.
Fargo, Hyco, Rico, Coba, Wick, and Mikka did that, he said.
Those are the names of K-9s listed in the title of a bill advanced unanimously Wednesday after legislators heard from officers across the state.
It would increase penalties for tormenting, injuring or killing a police dog or horse.
Existing law sets a range of one to five years in prison, with a fine up to $5,000. That’s not nearly enough, Cavanagh said.
The bill would reset the range at two to 10 years, with a maximum fine of $20,000. The convicted felon would also have to cover the full cost of replacing or restoring the animal, to include veterinary and training expenses.
The House Judiciary hearing began with officers introducing their dogs, some sharing the names of their K-9s that died.
Rep. Neal Collins, the bill’s main sponsor, noted he’s been trying to get similar legislation through for a decade. The first bill he co-sponsored was named after Fargo and Hyco, Cavanagh’s K-9 and an Anderson County K-9 that died in October 2015.
That bill, pre-filed for the 2016 session, received no traction.
The latest bill names just some of the police dogs that have died on duty since. The bill is “about those dogs, it’s about these officers that are here today — treating these animals with the respect that they give to our community,” said Collins, R-Easley.
After record number of SC police dogs killed, bill would increase penalties
It has 41 co-sponsors, including two Democrats.
Solicitor David Stumbo, the chief prosecutor for Abbeville, Greenwood, Newberry and Laurens counties, told the panel it’s past time to increase sentences for people who kill police dogs.
He prosecuted the man who killed Coba, one of the bill’s namesakes, a State Law Enforcement Division dog shot and killed in June 2024 while officers served a warrant.
James Peterson, of Prosperity, received a combined 33-year prison sentence last year only because of his other charges, Stumbo said. Five of those were for fatally shooting Coba. Peterson was later sentenced to an additional 12 years in federal prison.
“When people hear that killing a K-9 in the line of duty only carries five years in prison, they’re stunned,” said Stumbo, who’s running for state attorney general.
The bill would also up penalties for beating, striking, or drugging an on-duty police dog or horse. Under existing law, violators can be jailed for 30 days to six months and fined up to $1,000.
Collins’ bill would raise the maximum to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Wednesday’s unanimous vote sent it to the full House Judiciary Committee.
After the meeting, Cavanagh told the SC Daily Gazette that although he has a new police dog, Fargo can’t just be replaced.
“It’ll never be the same,” he said.
He’s been a handler of police dogs since 2004 and said Fargo is the best dog he’s ever worked with.
“We had gotten to the point where he knew what I was asking of him, without me even speaking,” Cavanagh said. “We were really on a level together that a lot of handlers … kind of dream to be at.”
A similar bill sponsored by Sen. Brian Adams of Goose Creek, a retired officer, advanced to the Senate floor last year.
But it’s yet to receive a vote. It remains on the Senate calendar with an objection. Senate rules allow a single senator to block debate.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
