Richland Police Officer K9 Teun apprehended his first criminal.
On August 19, at approximately 7:45pm, Sergeant Coty Hamilton attempted to stop a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee on Cleary Road near Old Highway 49. The suspect driving the Jeep didn’t stop and sped away from Sgt. Hamilton going eastbound on Cleary Road.
The chase ended on Church Street when the suspect lost control on Pearson Road, and collided with a tree.
Sgt. Hamilton and Richland’s newest K9 officers “Teun”, went into the woods to try to apprehend the suspect.
Officers gave the suspect several verbal commands to get out of his vehicle, but when he didn’t get out of the Jeep they deployed K9 Teun to help apprehend the suspect.
The suspect was identified as Omar Rivers Jr. According to his criminal history, he has been arrested nearly 25 times, 15 of those felony charges. His past charges included narcotics charges, fleeing law enforcement, theft, and possession of stolen goods, spanning over 6 different states.
The Jeep that Rivers was driving had been reported stolen with the Ridgeland Police Department on July 14th of this year.
This incident was K9 Officer Teun’s first apprehension.
