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VIDEO: K9 gives kisses to suspect hiding in swamp from Florida deputies

LAND O’ LAKES, FLORIDA — A suspect hiding from Pasco County deputies in a swamp after a high-speed chase was arrested covered in slobbery kisses instead of a bite from their K9.

The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office sent out an alert to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office after they say Paul Daniel Smith, 34, resisted arrest and battered a deputy. He took off in a Ford F150.  Deputy Marc Lane spotted the vehicle on US 41 and went after him.

Smith eventually stopped and ran into a heavily wooded, swampy area. With the help of their K9 bloodhound Knox, deputies tracked Smith down through the swamp, finding him stuck in thick mud with water up to his neck.

"Stop resisting," the deputies can be heard saying in the video posted to Facebook.

K9 Knox Swamp Track

Yesterday (Tuesday, 4/17), Pasco deputies spotted a vehicle that was driving at a high rate of speed southbound on US 41 that was the subject of a case in Hernando County. After a short pursuit, the vehicle slowed after nearly striking deputies and the driver fled on foot into a densely wooded, swampy area. K9 Knox, Deputy Rob Wilkins, and Corporal Andrew Denbo tracked the subject through the swamp and located him almost entirely submerged in the mud. After several minutes and with the assistance of other deputies, they were able to extricate the subject from the mud and arrest Paul Daniel Smith for Flee to Elude, Aggravated Assault on LEO, Violation of Probation, and also notify Hernando County of the arrest. The video below shows the track just before the suspect is discovered by K9 Knox and initial efforts to remove the suspect from the thick mud. He was later freed with the assistance of several other deputies. We do want to warn viewers that there is coarse language used by the suspect in this video.

Posted by Pasco Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, April 18, 2018

(Facebook)

As they try to get Smith out of the mud, instead of biting, Knox covers his face in wet, doggy kisses.

Knox’s specialty is finding people, from missing children to wanted men.

Smith is facing several charges including aggravated assault and violation of probation. As for Knox, he’s been rewarded for a job well done with his favorite treat: cheese.

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