Braintree – Statue Braintree police K-9 Kate was killed It will be dedicated along with a Braintree Police memorial that was moved during a ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday outside the Braintree Police Station at Union Street and Cleveland Avenue.
Kitt died after being shot three times while charging a suspect in a domestic violence incident outside the Braintree Village apartment complex on June 4, 2021.
The suspect fired at officers from a wooded area, wounding Police Officer Matthew Donoghue and Kitt’s partner, Braintree Police Officer William Cushing. The third officer, Richard Seibert, was wounded. The suspect was killed.
The bronze statue of Kate was created by Salt Lake City sculptor Lena Turic and was paid for through a fundraising campaign started by five Braintree students.
Kit was born in Slovakia in August 2009, and was brought to this country to be trained as a police dog. He and Cushing have worked together for 11 years. Kitt was awarded the Braintree Police Medal for Bravery for protecting officers during an armed standoff in 2016.
After the 2021 shooting, Cushing discovered there were no programs to help K-9 teams who were victims of violence. So Cushing helped form the nonprofit K9 Kit Foundation, Its goal is to provide comfort to violently injured K-9 teams across the country. He also seeks to help educate and train handlers and ensure K-9 teams have the proper equipment.
A second-generation Braintree police officer and a 15-year veteran of the department, Cushing has worked with Kate for a decade. They were together not only at work, but outside of work as well.
“You spend more time together than you do with your family,” Cushing said of Kate.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree Police K-9 Kitt will be honored with a memorial statue
