Rockford group unveils statue of K9 Nyx at Franchesco’s

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Friends of the Rockford Police K9 Unit held an event to unveil a lifelike statue of K9 Nyx, memorializing her acts of valor in the face of danger.

The event was held at Franchesco’s Ristorante on Friday night. The life-sized statue is made out of bronze.

The Board President of the group who donated Nyx and other police dogs to the Rockford Police Department talked about the importance of these officers.

“It’s really critical to have trained K9s for our police department because they can do things that humans can’t,” said Kathy Hansen. They can smell way better than we can, they can find people [and] they can find guns. They put their lives in danger. [They] will run into a dangerous situation to save a human life, which is exactly what Nyx did.”

K9 Nyx was shot in 2024 in the 2900 block of 11th Street while she and her human partner were tracking down a domestic violence suspect.

The Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office said Malik Trotter allegedly shot the dog three times and then engaged in a shootout with Officer Vargas.

Vargas explained what it means for the community to come to support him after his loss.

“Having everyone here is a testament to what it means to the public, as well as officers have come to support me in my loss from what happened,” said Officer Vargas. “I hope everyone gains a little appreciation for how close of a bond that we have together, the K-9 handler and the K-9, the amount of time we spent training together. It all prepares us so that we can better serve the community.”

The statue will be displayed at Rockford Police Department District 3.