Polk County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office K9 Ace was released from the veterinary hospital Sunday with his front left leg amputated after being shot by a man who ambushed deputies August 6, 2026.
Sheriff Grady Judd noted, “Ace is a 7-year-old German Shepherd. He has been with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office since March of 2020.”
CBS 12 reported that deputies were trying to arrest Angel Bowers around 6:15 p.m. and he opened fire as Ace and three deputies closed in. One of the rounds “struck Ace in the left side of his chest and exited through his left shoulder, severely damaging his front leg and an artery.”
Ace’s handler, Deputy Natalie Oestreich, carried him from the scene and transported him to Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Lakeland, where they were able to stop the bleeding and stabilize the K9. He went into surgery and the leg had to be amputated.
Sheriff Judd praised Ace, crediting the K9 with “protecting deputies and [the] community.” He indicated that Ace was leading the group of deputies when Bowers began shooting.
Video posted on X shows three-legged Ace leaving the veterinary hospital on Sunday:
Sheriff Judd said a SWAT team closed in on Bowers roughly two hours after Ace was shot and discovered he was deceased from a gunshot wound.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
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