Much-loved BCSO K-9 Joker dies

From Local 3 News- UPDATE: Former K-9 Officer Joker has died.

Joker was a German Shepard and Bradley County K9 Deputy seriously wounded in the line of duty with his handler, Deputy Eduardo Choate.

Joker and Chaote were searching for a group of six juveniles, automobile theft suspects, near Toyota of Cleveland, in September of 2021.

Several surgeries and recoveries later, Joker was released from veterinary care to Chaote.
In 2022, the Tennessee Legislature passed "Joker's Law," a bill designed to increase the penalties for people convicted of harming a police K-9.

The law increased the charge for the crime from a Class E felony to a Class B felony. That would increase a possible sentence from 1-6 years to 8-30 years.



Joker's seven-year career contains staggering statistics.

In 2023, Joker was retired officially from service, after logging more than 650 total deployments during his seven-year career.

Over 100 of these were successful tracks where the suspects were found and arrested without harm, and an additional 30 physical suspect apprehensions where he chased and held down the suspects until the arrest could be made.


PREVIOUS STORY: The Veterinary Care and Specialty Group in Chattanooga was able to remove a mass, a lymph node, and resection half of K-9 Joker's intestines.

A Facebook post from Jason Johnson, founder of Project K-9 Hero, said veterinarians found an internal perforation during surgery, and this operation should make him feel better.

"He will need a strict diet with increased vitamins and nutrients," Johnson said in the post.

 "It will take a few days to get the pathology back of what the mass is exactly."

Project K-9 Hero paid over $10,000 this past week to cover the medical bills of Joker, who took a bullet for his handler in the line of duty in 2021.

Anyone wishing to contribute to his medical fund can donate on the group's website.


PREVIOUS STORY: Retired K-9 from Bradley County, Joker, is continuing to experience complications following surgery.

Joker went to the vet for a check-up on Dec. 4th because his breathing was irregular. His handler learned that something may have entered his lungs during surgery, which could have taken a while to develop a respiratory issue.

Joker retired in June 2023. He was shot while chasing car theft suspects in 2021, and has been through several surgeries and complications since then.