St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, Florida
End of Watch: Friday, June 25, 2004
Age: 5
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 24, 2004
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Convicted
K9 Vasko was shot and killed while performing an apprehension during a foot pursuit of a car-jacking suspects.
During the track one of the two suspects fired a shot, at which time Vasko attempted an apprehension. The subject fired two more times, striking Vasko. His handler was able to return fire and wounded the subject multiple times.
Vasko was transported to an emergency veterinarian hospital where he underwent surgery, but died from complications the following day.
K9 Vasko was posthumously awarded the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office Medal of Honor and Life Saving Award