Man killed by police after striking police dog with hammer

STOCKTON, Calif. - Police shot and killed a man who struck a Northern California police dog with a claw hammer and then swung the tool at an officer.

Stockton Police say just before midnight Tuesday, officers were called to a house in a northern area of the city for reports of a person armed with a hammer, vandalizing a house.

Officers responding to the scene confronted the man and kept telling him to put the hammer down. When he did not comply, the officers sent in the police dog.

When the K-9 unit was hit with the hammer, the animal's partner went in. That's when two officers shot the suspect several times. He later died at a nearby hospital. The suspect shot was only identified by police as a 35-year-old man.

The K-9 suffered a laceration to its snout, but is reportedly doing fine and has already been reunited with its partner.

"You really have to think what's happening, what are the dangers, and make those decisions that are going to protect you but also anyone else in the immediate area," said Officer Joe Silva Stockton Police Department, told CBS Sacramento.