Main Menu

Officer George Potts & K-9 "Sequoia"
New London Police Department

On December 23rd several officer's from the New London Police Department had stopped a vehicle and discovered the operator was driving under suspension. The operator had exited his vehicle then jumped back inside. Two officer's that were attempting to stop the operator, were dragged by the vehicle unable to let go. The operator stopped, then put the vehicle in reverse. Officer Potts was able to drive his cruiser into the rear of the vehicle thus halting it's movement and protecting the officer's from serious physical injury.

Officer Potts then exited his vehicle and attempted to take the suspect into custody. The suspect refused to go peacefully and offered violent resistance. K-9 "Sequoia" was deployed from the cruiser and engaged the suspect, this allowed the officer's to take this violent suspect into custody.

Officer Celeste Robitaille & K-9 "Groll"
Stratford Police Department

On February 4th, Officer Robitaille assisted the Valley Street Crime Unit with the execution of a search warrant in Shelton Connecticut. On arriving at the residence, a male suspect standing outside, hit an officer in the face and fled on foot. Officer Robitaille ordered the suspect to stop or she would release her K-9 partner Groll. The suspect stopped running and surrendered. During the search Groll detected various narcotics and paraphernalia that was hidden throughout the apartment and even a bag of marijuana that was thrown off a second story balcony.

Officer Timothy Wydra & K-9 "Justice"
Hamden Police Department

On September 27th 0fficer Wydra and K-9 "Justice were part of a large scale search for a missing subject that had walked away from his residence approximately 12 hours earlier. The subject was legally blind, had numerous health problems and was extremely depressed.

Numerous K-9 teams from both Hamden and the Connecticut State Police were searching the area. Officer Wydra began a track from the residence with his K-9 partner "Justice". Justice found the trail and began to track the missing person. Justice tracked for just over 1 mile locating the subject in a heavily wooded area. The subject was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital for treatment.

Officer Frank McDermott & K-9 "Hero"
Hamden Police Department

On October 27th, 2001 Officer McDermott was contacted at home, to respond and assist in locating a suspect involved in a shots fired call in New Haven. The vehicle had been seen leaving the scene when officer's attempted a motor vehicle stop. The suspect, driving a stolen vehicle, then led police from New Haven and Hamden on a pursuit for several miles and before crashing the vehicle into a wooded area behind a school. Officer's arrested the 2 passengers , but the driver had eluded them.

Officer McDermott scented K-9 "Hero" from the driver's seat and the canine quickly began to track the suspect. The team tracked for approximately 2.5 miles through many yards and across numerous streets. K-9 "Hero" found and apprehended the suspect on the rear deck of a residence. The suspect was taken into custody.

Sgt. Dale Call and K-9 "Mandy"
Westport Police Department

On March 2nd, Sgt Dale Call responded to assist in locating a suicidal female that had recently been dropped off by a city cab. The cab driver returned to the location where the subject had exited and K-9 "Mandy" was scented from the vehicles rear seat. K-9 "Mandy" located the trail and began to track into a plaza then through an arcade.

"Mandy" then worked into the "Onion Alley" and began to climb the stairs. As they did so, an employee advised them that officers had already been to the business and that no-one matching the description had had come or gone from the location. Sgt. Call trusted his K-9 and allowed her to continue. As she worked to the rooftop bar area back-up officer's followed, checking rest rooms and closets. The suspect was located hiding in a small closet. She was transported to Norwalk Hospital.

Officer Steven Vesco & K-9 "Jag"
Windsor Police Department

On June 28th Officer Vesco and Jag responded to assist Hartford Police Department locate 2 suspects that had fled from a stolen motor vehicle. When he arrived he was told that one suspect had fled through a fence then fell 40 feet onto the railroad tracks.

Officer Vesco began checking the area when his partner began showing indications that he was getting closer to the suspect in a wooded area near the train bridge. Officer Vesco made several announcements advising the suspect to surrender. He received no response and deployed his partner into the wooded area. K-9 "Jag" quickly located and apprehended the suspect who was then taken into custody without further incident.

Officer Arthur Fredericks and K-9 "Bodo"
Bloomfield Police Department 

Officer Federicks and his K-9 partner "Bodo", tracked and located a suspect wanted for a home invasion. The suspect committed the crime while armed with a shotgun. During the incident the suspect had also assaulted the homeowner with a large knife.

Officer Fredericks and "Bodo" tracked the suspect approximately 2 miles in a steady rain before apprehending. The suspect had a large cut on his neck from and apparent attempt at suicide. The suspect was apprehended without injury to him or law enforcement officer's.

Doug Humphrey & K-9 "Jake"
East Windsor Police Department

by John Annese, Journal Inquirer 

EAST WINDSOR - Less than a month after getting out of the canine slammer, Jake, the town's temporarily suspended police dog, helped save a Windsor Locks man from a drug overdose Saturday morning, police said.

Police said Jake - who spent a few days in the dog pound waiting for a new trainer after his handler resigned as canine officer last month - tracked the man to the bank of the Connecticut River after picking up his scent from an abandoned truck.

Hospital officials later told police that the man could have died if he hadn't received prompt medical attention.

According to police, a group of people came into the station at about 9:23 a.m. Saturday and said that their friend, David A. Marshall, 32, of 51 Grove St., Windsor Locks, who had threatened suicide the night before, had abandoned his truck on North Water Street.

Marshall's friends told police they believed he had taken a large quantity of pills and alcohol.

When police found the truck on Depot Hill Road in Enfield in the area of the railroad trestle, Officer Raymond "Doug" Humphrey offered to deploy Jake to help find Marshall.

"He's not on officially, but this was a case where this was a life-and-death situation," Humphrey said.

Jake was suspended from duty last month after Officer Jeffrey Reimer resigned as canine officer to take care of a newborn baby. Reimer will remain as a patrol officer in the department.

Police officials placed Jake in the town's dog pound for a few days before releasing him to Humphrey.

Humphrey, an experienced police dog trainer who worked as the department's canine officer in the 1990s, is taking care of Jake and retraining him for re-certification as a police dog.

Humphrey went to his East Windsor home to bring Jake to the truck.

Jake picked up Marshall's scent from the driver's seat, and followed one of several paths leading away from the truck, police said.

Officers followed Jake underneath the railroad trestle to Marshall, who was lying unconscious against a concrete support pillar near the river bank, police said.

The officers woke the man up and carried him back to the truck to wait for an ambulance. According to police, Marshall was disoriented and highly medicated, and could not answer questions about exactly what he consumed.

An ambulance took Marshall to Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, where hospital personnel told police that the man likely would have died without timely medical attention.

Further information on Marshall's condition was not available today.