The Canine Unit consists of two K9 Teams supervised by Police Sergeant Alexei Venikov. The primary function of the Canine Unit is to reduce the opportunity for injury or death to officers engaged in the normal or dangerous scope of their duties. The Canine Unit operates as a specialized team; responsible for providing effective canine service whenever necessary. A Canine Team is dispatched to calls involving suspects wanted for serious crimes or that are likely to be armed with deadly weapons. In those cases, canines are used to apprehend suspects and are certainly preferable to the use of deadly force in taking a person into custody. Our K9 Teams are assigned to a regular patrol shift, but can be called in at any time to assist police officers when needed.

K9 Teams are often called upon to participate in community events to educate and promote the use of police dogs. They are popular with both young and old.

Our current handlers and their police dogs are:  

• Officer Dan Gill and K-9 Cash
• Officer Matt Montez and K-9 Yoda