Police dog in Vt. is killed in line of duty

MONTPELIER - A memorial service is being planned for tomorrow for the Rutland city police dog killed late Tuesday night while its handler was trying to stop a fleeing vehicle carrying four Connecticut men.

Rutland Police Lieutenant Kevin Geno said the 3 1/2-year-old German shepherd, named King Luther, was hit and killed by a State Police cruiser after jumping out of an officer's stopped cruiser along Route 7. Officer Frank Post had stopped to lay spike strips in the roadway to stop a car carrying suspects who police believed were involved in a shooting in Leicester.

The four Connecticut men in the vehicle, all from Waterbury, were caught after they crashed a stolen car into a guardrail on Route 4 in Castleton, police said.

The suspects, who face a variety of charges, were identified as Rahe Autry, 22, George Gaston, 23, Hasan Hickey, 19, and Mark Hunter, 21.