Body camera video shows Ann Arbor K-9 officer track down robbery suspect

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - The partnership between Officer Thomas Burnette and his K-9, Stang is only a few months old, but the Ann Arbor police is already seeing happy returns.

After being partners since September, the pair both helped track down robbery suspects Sunday. Ann Arbor police were called to help track a suspect who ran from a crash following a Speedway robbery in Saline.

It's where  a k9 officer came in handy. The Ann Arbor PD released body camera footage of the track.

"Hey let’s go, find them," Burnette said."Here’s a bunch of money right here."

The duo fought through thick brush along the way as Stang went to work.

Burnette; "Any reason to believe they are armed or anything?"

Second officer: "They just had an ra at a gas station."

Burnette: "Okay, so they might be armed."

Which is where a k9 officer comes in handy.

"That’s what he lives for," Burnette said. "He’s an awesome tool, at that point he knows what he is doing. he puts his nose to the ground and is going to look for human odor to follow."

After the robbery, the suspect's vehicle crashed at the intersection of Ann Arbor Saline road and the I-94 ramp Two were in custody a third was not.

"Ann Arbor police k9," yelled Burnette on officer video while approaching an area of thick brush. "If you are in here make yourself known now, you are under arrest. I will send the dog and you will be bit."

In this case the threat of feeling Stang’s sting was enough to end the search.

"The dog is going to find you, and he will bite you if he finds you," Burnette said. "So (he thought) maybe I should give up and that’s what happened ultimately."

And with that the search over, no one was hurt..

"This is fun for him," Burnette said. "So this is his play. So he is excited because he’s out of the car and getting a track done."