(The following article by Dan Rozek was posted on the Chicago Sun-Times website on December 11.)
CHICAGO — His partner was small but so excelled at police work that Capt. Bryan Bass said he always felt safe working with him.
On Friday, Bass, who works for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Ry. police, broke down in tears during a memorial service for his slain colleague, a 3-year-old German shepherd named Jager.
Jager was killed in the line of duty late Nov. 21 while chasing two burglary suspects during a surveillance operation along the railway’s 49th Street line. Police think Jager was struck and killed by the suspects’ vehicle as they escaped.
The loss hit the 41-year-old Bass especially hard because they had a tight bond that reached beyond just working together. Jager lived with Bass and his family, vacationed with them, and, Bass said, “was just like one of the kids.”
‘We fit’
“We did everything together,” he recalled after the South Side memorial, which drew more than three dozen police officers, many of whom work with canine partners.
During the emotional service, Jager’s cremated remains sat on a flag-decorated table along with his collar and police badge 235-A. The items were flanked by a framed photo of the dog and a second photo of Jager with Bass.
Bass, a stocky, 20-year police veteran, began working with Jager a little more than a year ago. It was Bass’ first assignment as a K-9 officer, and he said he selected Jager last November because of the dog’s spirit and energy. He wasn’t deterred even though Jager, at about 70 pounds, was a little smaller than some of the other dogs that had just completed police training.
“He was kind of the underdog,” Bass said. “I was just starting out [as a K-9 officer]. We fit.”
They first worked together in southern Texas, then transferred to the Chicago area in April. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on patrol and his ears would perk up because he knew someone was out there,” Bass said.
The memorial had many of the trappings of a traditional police funeral service, including a Chicago Police bagpiper and prayers from a police chaplain.
“He was proudly and courageously doing the job he so loved when he was killed,” said Chief Special Agent Ken Shaw of the BNSF police.
A railroad spokesman said “there is progress being made” in the investigation into Jager’s death, although no one has been arrested. “We regard this as a very, very serious crime,” railroad spokesman Steve Forsberg said.