FHP Trooper wants 'justice' in wake of police dog shooting

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There was strong reaction from a local Florida Highway Patrol Trooper after the teenager accused of shooting the trooper's retired police K-9 was formally charged. The sixteen year old was arraigned at the Palm Beach County Jail, where he is also being held on a total of $1.5 million bond. His alleged victim, Trooper Bobby Boody, says this is a big step toward justice being served.

'Drake', a retired police dog, did not make it in the end.

"When we put him on the plane, I'll be honest if you go back and look at the pictures, you can see in his eyes that he was not doing so well," said Boody, who was tasked with making the difficult decision to let Drake go.  "I guess I have a little bit of what they call 'survivor's guilt'," said Boody. "Maybe that's not appropriate in this situation but I feel guilty that I wasn't there for the dog."

The night of November 18, Drake was home alone. Trooper Boody arrived to find the place ransacked and the dog bloodied on the bedroom floor and riddled with gunshots, according to investigators.

Authorities say the shots were fired by Ivins Rosier, 16, who on Friday was charged as an adult. 

"We know there are people out there that want to do us harm," said Boody.

Authorities say Rosier - who was already on probation - did target Boody's suburban West Palm Beach home, looking for money and guns, all while wearing an ankle monitoring bracelet. 

The Department of Juvenile Justice now says the device was not being tracked properly.  Because of this case, the department will review more than 200 other youth electronic monitoring cases across the state.

"If it took the death of a dog to prevent the death of a person, then so be it," said Boody.

"I probably am going to get a new dog," he said.  "I can't deal with the emptiness in the house, quite honestly. So, I'll get a new dog and we'll move forward from there."    

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says the 16-year-old suspect is being held in a part of the jail with other inmates under the age of 18, not the general inmate population. If convicted on the most serious of the charges - armed burglary - the teen would face a life sentence.