York County cops in 2018 gunfight with killer got medals. A K-9 dog got one, too.
The South Carolina police officers who acted heroically in a 2018 shootout with a suspect who killed a deputy and injured three others have all received medals for bravery.
On Friday, the police K-9 dog Gabby, who helped even after her handler was shot, got a medal, too.
The York County Sheriff’s office awarded Gabby the South Carolina law enforcement Medal of Valor for her work during the Jan. 16, 2018 attack on police near York by Christian McCall.
Sgt. Randy Clinton was the first officer wounded in the incident. Clinton and Gabby had been tracking the suspect in a domestic violence call outside York when McCall shot Clinton, police said.
After Clinton was shot, Gabby went “off lead.” That means she wasn’t being held by an officer.
“I got shot - twice- and I thought the third shot hit Gabby,” Clinton said Friday. “I thought she was gone. I thought she was dead.”
But Gabby didn’t run from the action. She stayed.
Clinton learned that Gabby was unhurt as he was being loaded into a vehicle to be rushed to a hospital.
“She licked my face, and I knew my girl was alive,” Clinton said.
Clinton and Gabby, a 6-year-old bloodhound, have been partners for all of Gabby’s life.
In January, the officers and other emergency personnel who responded were recognized with medals of valor for their courage during the shootings.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson wanted to recognize Clinton’s dog Gabby, too.
“When shots ran out, and Sgt. Clinton was shot, he did a flip,” Tolson said. “Sgt. Clinton heard three shots. Sgt. Clinton took two of those shots. Sgt. Clinton thought Gabby had taken that third shot for him.”
Gabby stayed at the crime scene until the end of the incident.
McCall later shot and killed SWAT team member Mike Doty and wounded Sgt. Buddy Brown, police said. York Police Department Sgt. Kyle Cummings was also shot in the crossfire.
McCall was shot by police during the shootout and taken into custody.
Like all the officers involved, Gabby was a hero that night, Tolson said.
In May 2018, McCall pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder and other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Brown, Clinton and Cummings have all since returned to work.
In 2017, Gabby led police to the body of a slain Charlotte Uber driver who was found in York County. The dog and Clinton were recognized by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police for their work in that case.
Besides a medal on Friday, Gabby got one thing the cops who were honored did not get.
She got her own cake. The cake had her name on it in frosting and was made from dog biscuits.
She didn’t share the cake with any of the cops. None asked, either.
This story was originally published February 22, 2019 at 3:21 PM.
