Yesterday, we officially welcomed four new teams to our elite K-9 unit. Officer Javier Perez & K-9 Dunn, Officer Alex Rethwisch & K-9 Kodiak, Officer Zach Simmons & K-9 Jeff, and Officer John Skillman & K-9 Mako completed the last of their certifications to become certified K-9 officers.
We held a tiny celebration as each was presented with their official certificates of completion and a swag bag for their partners who were off relaxing after the final morning of testing. The journey to becoming a part of Lakeland’s elite K-9 unit began in January of this year.
In 2020 we had four members who left the unit; two retired, and two were promoted to Sergeants within the agency. With the guidance of the unit trainers, new canine partners were selected through a rigorous vetting process and matched to each of the handlers.
During the last six months, the officers and canines have trained side-by-side, completing over 880 hours of training and successfully certifying in patrol operations and detection work. All of the new K-9s are trained in drug detection, as we have two K-9s already certified in explosives detection. The new duos officially “hit the road” this weekend! We were also honored to have three other officers from Polk County agencies join us for training as they too received new K-9 partners.
Officer Morales and K-9 partner Ares from Haines City Police Department, Officer Mark Fraizer and K-9 Viggo with Winter Haven Police Department, and Officer Juan Lopez and K-9 partner Leo with Lake Alfred Police Department became part of our LakelandPD family over the past six months. We want to give a special shout-out to Ron Bowling Sr, who came out to serve as an official for the certification exam. Ron is often referred to as the “Polk County’s father of K-9 training” and pushed to bring four-legged partners to law enforcement. He and his partner Sarge were the first K-9 team at LakelandPD in 1980.