History Tells Us The Value Of A Good Partner And Community
Mahaska County Deputy Matt McCain and his partner Khan.
December 11, 2021
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Remembering back to the summertime in Mahaska County in 2002. It’s that time of the year when the oppressive heat occurs, and most of us do our best to avoid it. However, notes indicate the temperature was more than 110 degrees that day.
Mahaska County Deputy Matt McCain and his K9 partner Khan were performing routine patrol north of Oskaloosa on Highway 63 when a vehicle passed them that required attention from McCain.
A simple traffic stop has turned violent, and a perpetrator has taken advantage of their size over Deputy McCain.
Pinned against the ground, with both arms restrained, McCain fought to make sure his weapon wasn’t taken and used against the public, his partner, or himself.
His partner, Khan, could see the perpetrator and the fight taking place but couldn’t help, as he was still in the back seat of the patrol vehicle, as the door hadn’t yet been popped open.
With the heat now creating a life-threatening condition of heatstroke for McCain, he continued to try and release himself from his attacker, who was making threats to do bodily harm to the deputy.
The heat that day was in excess of 110 degrees, but for McCain, it was made worse with the weight of his vest and equipment belt he was wearing.
The gravity of the situation became more apparent as the assault continued. “I felt the faintness come about me of the heat and getting lightheaded. I knew that there wouldn’t be a way to protect my weapon if I went unconscious,” McCain shared.
“I could hear Khan in the car the whole time,” McCain remembers. ” He [Khan] had been loading up on this guy as he threw me to the ground, and so the car was shaking as he was trying to get out to help me and was unable to do so. I couldn’t reach the button on my belt to hit the door so that it would come open so he could assist me.”
At nearly that last possible moment, a civilian walked up to the perpetrator and McCain and asked what he could do to help.
McCain told him to “get this guy off me. So he went and grabbed the guy and threw him off of me.”
“I was very close at this point to being unconscious,” McCain remembers. “I had very definite tunnel vision. It was hard to think straight as to what was going on. I ended up being able to pull myself up off the ground.”
The perpetrator “continued to get up and be combative, and I reached up and popped the door handle, and the door sprung open, and Khan came out.”
“And of course, he had focused in on the guy that had attacked me, because he’d been watching it the whole time, and apprehended him. So the guy continued to punch and kick the dog, and Khan continued to stay in the fight and try to hold him as best he could.”
“While the guy is assaulting him [Khan] with significant force, I remember the kicks to the head that Khan sustained; getting punched, and Khan continued to hold on and try to keep him under control.”
“I remember once the male was subdued, and it appeared that he was done fighting, and again, I’m very faint at this point; I don’t remember how the dog was pulled off of him,” McCain added. “I can’t remember if I put him in the car or whether somebody that was there to assist me ended up getting him in the car.”
McCain was not conscience by the time then-Sheriff Charlie Van Toorn arrived, and the attacker was taken into official custody.
When it comes to all the good samaritans that stopped their cars to assist, “I could never thank them enough for the help that they gave me that day.”
For McCain, that bond between him and his K9 partner was cemented. “I realized at that point that he had proved himself in battle.”
“We always hope that it never comes to that and that the presence alone with a K9 will be enough to keep people from becoming violent with you,” said McCain. “Khan showed that he could stay in the fight and protect me and anybody else that day that came into contact with this male.”
“He stayed in there despite being assaulted over and over again,” McCain remembers of his partner. “He did his job and every day, the rest of his life; I was so thankful for having him there that day and numerous other incidences throughout our career together.
When Khan retired in 2008, he continued to live with McCain. “He was my best friend. Of course, being together 24/7, we just developed a friendship I’ve never had with another human. Just incredible friendship.”
“We just had a very, very rewarding and productive career together that I’ll never forget,” McCain said of his K9 partner.
Khan passed away in 2013, “15 years old for a German Shepard is quite incredible,” said McCain. “He had a good life overall.”
When it comes to the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office fundraising and bringing on a new K9, McCain shared that a K9 is a tool that benefits the community greatly. “Not only the protection of its law enforcement officers but the help and the job that they do every day with that olfactory sense that they have. That’s just incredible.”
“I think that it’s going to benefit the community with having two K9’s. One for the city, one for the county. They can work together, train together, and be that much stronger together in the performance of their duties and the overall safety of our community.”
The Mahaska County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has agreed to assist the Sheriff’s Office with this fundraising effort. Any individual, group, organization, or business interested in donating to this project is asked to send their tax-deductible donations to:
Mahaska County K9 Project
%Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office
214 High Avenue East
Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
