TEXARKANA, Texas –The Police Department’s two K-9 teams won first place as a department at the recent National Detector Trials.
The competition was June 2-6 in Wichita Falls, Texas. It included 57 teams from state and federal agencies across the country, including the New York Police Department and the CIA.
Investigators Aaron Lewis and his partner, Absurd, and Cole Bredenberg and his partner, Thor, were invited to participate in the competition after their performances at the regional trials held in May in Texarkana, Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn said.
The K-9s and their handlers competed in narcotics and explosives detection with the goal of obtaining a national certification in detection work over a two-day period.
Bredenberg and Thor also placed seventh in the individual scores and fourth in vehicle detection, according to TTPD.
“These teams train very hard to serve and protect the people of our community on a daily basis, and we are extremely proud when they get the opportunity to show off those hard-earned skills to others around the country,” Vaughn said.
Police Chief Kevin Schutte praised Lewis’ and Bredenberg’s work with the four-legged officers.
“This is just a collateral duty that they have, which means not only do they put in full shift work, but they have to spend a lot of time outside of their shift taking care of the dog, which is a lot of maintenance,” Schutte said Monday during a regular meeting of the City Council.
Besides working local investigations, Absurd and Thor also assist state police with narcotics detection, Schutte said.
Absurd takes his commands in Czech. He is a single-purpose dog, with a focus on narcotics.
In the three years he has worked with Absurd, Lewis said they have made hundreds of arrests and seized hundreds of kilograms of drugs.
“He’s definitely my partner. He lives with me. He goes home with me every night,” Lewis said. “I see him more than I do my family.”
Thor is a dual-purpose dog, which means he does apprehensions along with detections. He and Bredenberg have worked together for two years.
“It’s very seldom we have to use (him) for apprehension, but when we do, he’s effective for that. We call him a four-legged shotgun,” Schutte said.
In October, Thor will travel to Baton Rouge for the National Field Trials.
Special investigator Aaron Lewis conducts obedience with K-9 Absurd on Wednesday afternoon, June 12, 2024, at Texarkana Texas Police Department’s operations center at Spring Lake Park. Absurd and fellow K-9 Thor came in first place during the National Detector Trials in early June in Wichita Falls, Texas. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)
Cole Bredenberg and his K-9 partner, Thor, stand before the audience as Police Chief Kevin Schutte speaks during a City Council meeting Monday evening, June 10, 2024, at City Hall in Texarkana, Texas. Thor and fellow K-9 Absurd came in first place during the National Detector Trials in early June in Wichita Falls, Texas. Thor also is bound for the National Field Trials in October in Baton Rouge. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
