National nonprofit K9s United and Florida U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean introduced federal legislation aimed at protecting law enforcement K-9s.

K9s United Vice President Jay Nix said a new Florida law that the nonprofit helped pass allows first responders to take immediate action when a police dog is injured. That quick action Friday likely saved the life of Jacksonville Sheriff's Office K-9 Huk after he was shot in the line of duty.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 19-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to more than two decades in prison for killing a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 and kidnapping two women at gunpoint in September 2018. In handing down that sentence, Circuit Judge Gilbert Feltel Jr. found middle ground between the 35-year prison sentence sought by the state and the defense’s request for 15 years in prison along with rehabilitation. The judge ordered Paskel to pay $8,000 restitution to the Sheriff’s Office, along with $518 in court fees. Paskel was last in court Oct. 19 when a judge heard testimony from K-9 Fang’s handler, Officer Matt Herrera, as well as Paskel and his mother, who asked for leniency. “His senseless killing underscores the dangers law enforcement face every day and it sparked changes in state law.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sentencing was delayed for a 19-year-old who admitted to shooting and killing Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 Fang in September 2018. In court, JSO Officer Matt Herrera, Fang’s handler, explained how Sept. 30, 2018, changed his life forever. Evidence showed Paskel shot and killed Fang and kept running into the woods, but he was tracked down by another officer with his K-9. “All I ask today, your honor, is for a second shot at life,” he said in court Monday. JSO has remembered Fang as helping keep everyone safe at special events and football games and had captured some of the most dangerous criminals in Jacksonville.