--- title: Hundreds Attend Memorial for California Police Dog Killed in Action description: Sultan the veteran police dog had been working with the department since September 2013 canonical: https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-12T20:05:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:16:50.634Z og:title: Police Dog Killed in Action Gets Hero's Memorial og:description: Hundreds turned out in Riverside, Calif. to say goodbye to Sultan og:url: https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Police Dog Killed in Action Gets Hero's Memorial twitter:description: Hundreds turned out in Riverside, Calif. to say goodbye to Sultan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # California Police Dog Killed in Action Gets Hero's Farewell > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c2bcb3fb-9348-404e-81b1-e552e6ddbe20&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 540,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 45.6% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 3.3% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c2bcb3fb-9348-404e-81b1-e552e6ddbe20&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=c2bcb3fb-9348-404e-81b1-e552e6ddbe20&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It reaches 540,000 subscribers with a 45.6% open rate as of August 2026. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Johnny Dodd / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Johnny Dodd / People Contributor Feb 12, 2015 8:05 PM UTC by [Johnny Dodd / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Johnny Dodd / People Contributor Feb 12, 2015 8:05 PM UTC Hundreds of mourners turned out Wednesday in Riverside, California, for the memorial of Sultan, a police dog killed while attempting to subdue a violent felon. “When I heard this, it felt like I’d lost a peer,” Riverside County chief deputy Geoff Raya said at a press conference. “There is very little differentiation between four legs and two legs – they are all members of the Riverside Sheriff’s Department.” Born in Slovakia, Sultan had been working with the department since September 2013, working in narcotics detection, tracking and apprehension. On Jan. 21, the Belgian Malinois-German shepherd mix, along with several deputies from the Hemet Sheriff’s station, was called to search for Todd Allen Hodge, 36, who had failed to show up for his arraignment on a weapons charge. Hodge had been spotted in a residential neighborhood in Hemet, California, Riverside Sheriff’s spokesman deputy Albert Martinez tells PEOPLE. It didn’t take long before the veteran police dog “alerted” cops to a crawl space beneath a residence and was sent down the house to investigate. “Moments later an indistinguishable noise was heard,” Martinez says, and Sultan returned from the crawl space with a gunshot wound to his neck. Sultan was rushed to a local veterinarian hospital but died a short time later. After Hodge “refused” to come out of the residence, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team was called in. Hodge eventually emerged with a handgun and was shot and killed. Sultan is one of three police dogs to be killed in the line of duty in recent months. In August, an Oklahoma City canine officer named Kye was repeatedly stabbed by 22-year-old Mark Salazar, who had led police on a 30-minute car chase, according to KFOR-TV. After Salazar crashed his stolen car, 3-year-old Kye chased him down but was stabbed repeatedly by the man, who was armed with a knife, and later died. When Kye’s human parter realized what was happening, he opened fire on Salazar, killing him on the spot. On Jan. 28, a tracking dog in Texas named Pepper, who worked with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, was dispatched into a thick patch of woods with five officers to find a felon, who had also just led police on a lengthy car chase. Alan Lance Alverson, 45, was hiding under a pile of leaves when Pepper discovered him. “He came up shooting,” Wise County Sheriff David Walker tells PEOPLE. “I think Pepper drew the first fire, which gave our officers the time they needed \[to shoot and kill Alverson\]. It was absolutely tragic, but I can tell you there are five law enforcement members who will go home to their wives and kids tonight because of what Pepper did.” _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/hundreds-mourn-police-dog-sultan?xid=IFT-Trending) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/"},"headline":"California Police Dog Killed in Action Gets Hero's Farewell","datePublished":"2015-02-12T20:05:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:16:50.634Z","description":"Hundreds turned out to say goodbye to Sultan","url":"https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Johnny Dodd / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3707820/sultan-police-dog/","name":"California Police Dog Killed in Action Gets Hero's Farewell"}}]}] ```