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COMMUNITY POLICING

Friendly fugitive seeks refuge in Goodyear PD patrol car

Officers return Leo the LEO to his owners

Posted 3/30/21

The story of a friendly fugitive who found his way home thanks to the Goodyear Police Department was a bright spot on the department’s Facebook page March 30, garnering more than 300 likes and 24 comments.

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COMMUNITY POLICING

Friendly fugitive seeks refuge in Goodyear PD patrol car

Officers return Leo the LEO to his owners

Posted

The story of a friendly fugitive who found his way home thanks to the Goodyear Police Department was a bright spot on the department’s Facebook page March 30, garnering more than 300 likes and 24 comments.

“This is the story of ‘LEO … a cute story with a happy ending,’” Public Information Officer Lisa Berry wrote on the page, @GoodyearPolice, recounting the story of a great dane who got lost in Goodyear and turned himself in when officers arrived to investigate.

“He wandered the neighborhood, but couldn’t find his way home. Confused, he found himself standing in a strange driveway in front of a garage, where he may have inadvertently startled the resident,” Ms. Berry wrote.

Of course, the resident called in a report asking police to respond, describing the dog as “so big, it’s as big as a horse!”

The big dog wasn’t offended, Ms. Berry noted. A lot of people mistake him for a horse, but he was a little scared being out on his own.

When police arrived on scene, one officer called out to the great dane, whose name he didn’t yet know. The pooch was so excited to see a friendly face that he ran up to the patrol car, and much to the officer’s surprise, jumped right through the open window.

“Leo was so relieved to be ‘in custody’ and safe!” Ms. Berry wrote.

Upon thorough investigation, officers were able to locate a Facebook post on a “lost dog” page and safely returned the great dane whose name is Leo, but now known affectionately as LEO, to his grateful owner. It was determined that Leo may have actually confused his name with the acronym LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) and found himself right at home in the driver’s seat of the patrol car.

“This sweet, gentle giant had quite the adventure!” Ms. Berry wrote.

So did the officers, who rarely have fugitives jump into their patrol cars begging to be taken home.