Enzo killed doing his duty

Police staff and the public were deeply saddened at the death of Enzo - a loyal, brave and promising Police dog - during a manhunt near Tauranga in early August.

Enzo's death prompted more than 200 messages of condolence from the public, which have been provided to his handler, Constable Kayne Cording.

The incident followed a routine check of a rural property south of Tauranga when a man, wanted in relation to domestic violence offences, fled into nearby bush.

Kayne and Enzo were called from an Armed Offender Squad training day to take part in the manhunt which grew to include more than 50 officers.

After successfully tracking the man over six kilometres, Kayne released Enzo when indications were that he was close, although he hadn’t seen the man in terrain partly covered by thick bush.

The scene soon went quiet and Kayne called for his dog. When there was no response, he knew something was wrong.
Enzo - killed on duty in early August.

Staff fanned out through the surrounding area searching for Enzo and the alleged offender for about two hours.

Another handler eventually found Enzo’s body about 800m from where he was released.

Kayne carried the body of “his little mate” out of the bush to a Police vehicle. He told Radio New Zealand that while carrying Enzo, he seriously considered whether he wanted to continue in the job.

“He was a really neat little dog, I loved working with him. I looked forward to coming to work.”

Kayne is now keen to get on with the job with a new dog.

The search for the alleged offender continued throughout the afternoon until a little after 5pm when he was found inside the search area.

A 27-year-old was arrested and has appeared in the Tauranga District Court charged with causing Enzo’s death and failing to meet warrant conditions.

Enzo was just three-years-old and had been operational for 18 months.