Top 10 local stories of 2021: No. 6 — The shooting and recovery of sheriff’s K9 Riggs

Police dog Riggs and his handler, Deputy Terry Tifft, received a hero’s welcome when Riggs was released from the veterinary hospital in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, with dozens of fellow police dogs and handlers lining up to honor the injured K-9 and Tifft.

Riggs was allegedly shot by Allan M. Brown, 33, who had been tracked down at the Benson Corners Shell gas station and Antique Mall in Bristol the morning of Oct. 21 after the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department was alerted by Chicago police, who were seeking Brown in connection to two homicides in Chicago. Brown was reportedly driving a vehicle owned by the victim of the second homicide at the time.

The shooting of Riggs and the apprehension of Brown ranked No.6 on the list of Top 10 local stories of 2021.

A scary encounter

When three Kenosha deputies attempted to arrest Brown, he fled on foot, allegedly firing behind him at the deputies and Riggs, who took Brown to the ground. Body camera footage showed Brown fired his gun two more times, with one bullet striking Riggs in the forehead.

“In a lot of ways, he’s a hero today,” said Kenosha Sheriff David Beth in a press conference later that day. “He possibly saved someone else from being injured today.”

The deputies opened fire, and Brown was shot three times, in the abdomen, thigh and bicep.

Brown was transported to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital, and Riggs was ultimately brought to a veterinary hospital in Buffalo Grove, Ill.

The deputies involved in the incident were put on administrative leave as the Racine County Sheriff’s Department was tasked with investigating the shooting. According to state law, an outside agency must conduct such investigations to determine if the shooting was justified and remove potential conflicts of interest.

Riggs later would be lauded by the County Board and Sheriff David Beth for his actions. From the Sheriff’s Department, Riggs was awarded a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, which are the fourth- and second-highest awards, respectively, presented by the department.

Escape attempt

Brown would later attempt to flee again as he was about to be transported out of the hospital, shoving a deputy away after his handcuffs were removed and running in leg irons before quickly being apprehended again.

He faces 8 charges, three felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of firing a dangerous weapon on a police K-9 causing injury, one count of mistreatment of a law enforcement animal with the use of a dangerous weapon, one count of failing to comply with an officer’s attempt to take a person into custody and one count of operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent with the use of a dangerous weapon.

Additional charges for Brown’s attempted escape are still pending.

Brown has a long criminal history, having served two prison sentences for assault-type offenses, and was convicted

Brown is the primary suspect in two homicides in Chicago on Oct. 21, one at a bus stop in the city’s Logan Square neighborhood and the other after a carjacking. In video surveillance of the bus stop shooting, lead detectives said there was no altercation between Brown and the victim prior to the shooting.

In the second shooting, Brown allegedly attempted to stop several passing vehicles at gunpoint before a driver stopped. They were shot and killed during the carjacking, and police tracked the victim’s car to Kenosha, at the gas station where the shootout between Sheriff deputies and Brown took place.

If convicted of all the charges, minus the impending escape charge, Brown faces a maximum fine of $140,000 and 71 years, six months in prison.

Brown is being held on a $1 million bond, which was increased after his escape attempt. His case is ongoing, and he remains in custody at the Racine County Jail.