Life Goes On, But Partner Still Misses Slain Dog

Police Officer Jim Weaver doesn’t visit the local cemetery where the cremated remains of his canine partner, Kim, were buried seven months ago.

Weaver says he prefers to live in the present. “I miss the dog, but you have to move on,” he said.

Kim, a 5-year-old German shepherd, was stabbed repeatedly last May 26 while trying to subdue a fleeing suspect in an incident that began near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Golden West Street in Huntington Beach.

Weaver had stopped a car, driven by 37-year-old Nick Spagnola, for expired registration tags. When Weaver, suspicious of Spagnola’s actions, was returning to his unit to check for any warrants on Spagnola, the Harrisburg, Pa., native sped off. At the intersection of Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue, Spagnola crashed and fled on foot.

Unaware that Spagnola had a knife, Weaver chased him and sent Kim ahead in pursuit. The dog caught Spagnola, who stabbed the animal repeatedly, as well as gashing himself in the leg.

Kim was flown by helicopter to a Garden Grove veterinary clinic and underwent several hours of emergency surgery. Despite the effort, Kim died with Weaver by his side. A ceremony at the Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery, which has a section set aside for police dogs, followed, with 60 police canine units from three counties on hand.

Last October, Huntington Beach’s medal of valor was presented to Weaver, 46, on Kim’s behalf, by state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.

At about the same time, Spagnola pleaded guilty to seven felony and misdemeanor counts, including the use of a knife, in connection with the incident. Spagnola, who had no previous criminal record, admitted his guilt in a written statement before his plea. He told Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Owen that he was sorry for his actions.

Owen sentenced Spagnola to 16 months in prison--less time served in Orange County Jail--ordered him to pay $13,000 in restitution and placed him on three years’ probation. Because of injuries sustained during the struggle, Spagnola was allowed to serve the remaining portion of his sentence at the medical facility at Chino state prison.

Weaver, who also addressed the court before Spagnola was sentenced, said he is angry that Spagnola did not receive more prison time.

“As Kim’s partner and a veteran police officer, I took the sentencing . . . as a personal affront to law enforcement in general, and in particular to those of us who have been injured or killed in the line of duty,” Weaver said.

Although upset by the sentence, Weaver said that after more than 20 years in law enforcement, “I understand the legal system.”

Weaver said he received a large box of letters from citizens praising Kim and offering moral support. He said people still come up to him during his lunch hour to talk about the dog.

These days, Weaver works with a new dog, Blux, a European-bred German shepherd.

“This dog and I are employed to make things safe for people, and find people,” Weaver said. But the sentence Spagnola received “makes it open season on dogs.”

Blux and Kim are “two different dogs,” Weaver said. Kim was “tough and tenacious,” while Blux “is a little softer in his personality,” which gives Weaver “a greater degree of control.”

But there are similarities. Like Kim, Blux is sociable and compatible with Weaver’s young child. Like Kim, Blux knows the difference between work time and play time.

Blux also gets along with the other members of Weaver’s family, Kim’s two 18-month-old offspring who live in the back yard of Weaver’s home.