memorial2001

Memorials to Fallen K-9s

2002 page 33
The F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of cards to all partners
I need your help to inform me of such losses.

Dept. addresses available for those who want to send condolences to officers. See below

(late entry)

In Loving Memory of
BANDIT
1984 - 1988

Partner: Officer Eric Deltgen
New London Police Department
5 Governor Winthrop Blvd.
New London, Ct. 06320

Notified & photos taken by James A. Cortina, CPWDA Dir.
Director, Connecticut Police Work Dog Association

Eric is no longer part of the K9 unit after the loss of all his partner.

Bandit was a black and tan, German shepherd, presumably bred in the U.S. He was a dog obtained from the Connecticut Humane Society, and was to become the first police dog assigned to the New London Police Department. After many weeks of lost overtime and countless hours in training with Certified Professional Master Trainers James A. Cortina and Robert Bergeson as private trainers, as well as some police trainers from agencies that had K-9 units, Bandit was finally admitted into the New London Police Department. His exact date of birth is not known, other then he was born sometime in 1984. Bandit began his career with the New London Police Department sometime in April of 1986. His handler at the time, Officer Eric Deltgen, had been with the department since 1980, and had taken upon himself to learn and train about police dogs, on his own time, with the hopes of getting a K-9 program started with the New London Police department. He was to be the first K-9 to become an active police K-9 in the recent history of the department. A lot of politicking, meetings and pleading went into this accomplishment, and with the help of fellow officer, William Nott, we were able to get it done. Nott himself was training a K-9, named Thunder as well and the two of us helped each other and continued doing so even after the K-9 units inception into the department. We were both K-9 rookies at this, but we feverishly worked hard at doing it right, asking questions, reading a lot, and going to as

many schools about the subject that we could afford. In time, our dogs, Bandit, Thunder and the dogs to follow would be recognized by many in the field. In time Officer Nott and I would join the USPCA, NAPWDA and eventually be part in the creation of the CPWDA. With more hard work and determination we would become certified trainers for the NAPWDA (North American Police Work Dog Association).
Sadly though, Bandit’s career on the force would be cut short. Barely 4 years old, he contracted cancer and died in 1988. But even with such a short career, Bandit was still able to accumulate some points. One of his first tracks was in the search of a despondent 12 year old boy who had run away from his home into nearby woods. When the call came, the boy had been missing for several hours, and the temperatures were now in the single digits. It was a late night in February, and if the boy was not found soon, there was a great chance that he would not survive the night. I still remember the day like as if it were yesterday. We (Myself), Bandit, I can only speculate, and my fellow officers were all nervous. This was the first big incident involving a New London Police dog and we wanted everything to end well. The eyes of the boy's family, not to mention the neighbors who had tried in vain to find the boy, were on us. We began a track from a point the boy had last been seen standing. We had contamination everywhere from the neighbors who had trudged through the area looking for the boy. Even during the track we came upon some persons who had not gotten the word to get out of the area and were still searching. Even with all the distractions, Bandit continued without being phased. I followed Bandit like I had been taught, remembering what had been engraved in my mind. “TRUST YOUR DOG.” The track lasted for about 45 minutes. Can't say how far we traveled, but without warning, Bandit began scratching at what seemed to be a large boulder. At first I didn't know what to make of it, but the when I pulled myself in front of Bandit and peaked on the other side of the boulder, I found that 12 year old boy cuddled in the fetal position. He had somehow found refuge there from the elements, but it wasn't protecting him from the cold. He didn't have any warm clothing and had he been there much longer, hypothermia would have set in. Long story short, the boy was found, cold, scared and above all safe. He was reunited with his family, and to this day I occasionally get a hardy hello from his family when we cross paths. Bandit got hugs and pets from the family and friends, and he was happy with that. Back home he got a juicy steak. I'm sure he appreciated that more. Another high point in Bandit’s career was when he helped in apprehending a rape suspect. He really didn't do much other then be at the right place at the right time. Fellow officer were chasing a rape suspect on foot, and had lost sight of him in one of our local neighborhoods. Bandit and I were on patrol close by, and decided to assist. We had barely gotten out of our patrol car, when the suspect popped out from one of the backyards. This guy was twice my size, a miniature Hulk, so to speak. But For Bandit, the bigger they were the better. Bandit had a neat thing about getting keyed up. You didn't have to say a word, just a light tickle on his collar and he became a fire breathing dragon with a bark that sounded like thunder. In any event, this guy saw us, and when I motioned to him to stand still, he flat out said he wasn't going and that we were going to have to work for it. No need for that. Bandit got his tickle, and I had all I could do to keep him from dragging me to the suspect. What ever it was it worked, because without hesitation, the suspect yelled out he was surrendering and to keep the dog away from him. The suspect was subsequently taken into custody without incident, and thankful that he did not have to meet Bandit face to face. Bandit was a 120 lb.. German Shepherd, but when he wanted to play hard, he looked like he weighed 190 lb.. I guess that would make one think twice before going on his bad side. Shortly after that incident Bandit would pass on. I still miss him and wish that he could have had a longer career. I'm sure that if that had been the case, he would have had an impressive career to say the least. Bandit will be sadly missed by all.

This was Officer Eric Deltgen's 2nd K-9
In Loving Memory of
K-9 ROCKY
Born 1986 - 1996

The passing of Bandit was not to be the end. Rocky, another Black and tan German Shepherd was waiting in the shadows. While bandit was still working, Off. Nott and I were training Rocky. Rocky was donated to the department so with him, the exact date of birth is not known other then he was born in 1986. Rocky was not as formidable as Bandit, as a matter of fact he was much smaller then him. He was the type of dog that would have made a great house pet, not really suited for police work. But, we were short of dogs, we didn't know any better at the time, and we worked him, almost forced him to become a police dog. Rocky would be my second K-9, replacing bandit. We learned a lot with Rocky, but above all we made him into one hell of a police dog. Rocky’s specialty was article recovery. For fun I would use pennies or any small item for him to find. Weather it be in a backyard, in a parking lot or even in the water, he would find it. I lost track at the number of keys he found for people who had lost them, even in the snow. Off. Nott and I would joke about Rocky saying the he was really a retriever disguised in a German Shepherd suit. Amongst his finds, Rocky was responsible for finding a rotisserie fork that had been thrown high in a tree. The fork had been used in a serious stabbing, and when the suspect fled, (she) threw the fork in a tree. After being released in the general area Rocky located the fork by alerting to it. That fork would later become instrumental in obtaining a conviction. I used to practice article recovery exercises by planting a knife in a tree and having Rocky locate. I guess all that hard work paid off. In another incident, Rocky located a loaded .380 cal weapon that had been used in a drug transaction gone bad. The suspect had fled from police, and had been able to discard the weapon. The suspect was eventually apprehended but without the weapon. Officers searched the path taken by the suspect during his attempt to flee, but could not find it. Rocky was called to the scene, and in less then two minutes found the weapon that had been buried near an abandoned building. The weapon was loaded and ready to fire. That too was instrumental in obtaining a conviction. Rocky used to like to chase bad guys. In one instance he chase down a car thief that just couldn't be caught. This guy ran like a gazelle and always managed to slip away. This time however, rocky and I happened to be in the vicinity he had been spotted. He was seen driving a stolen car, and as we headed to intercept, this guy just happened to cross our path. He tried to flee with the car but lost control and crashed into a fence. Before you could blink, this guy was out and running. Of course cops being what they are, we all started to run after this creep,

forgetting that we had a police dog at our disposal. (myself included). Suddenly realizing that we were being out run, and there was a dog (K-9) there, I called out to Rocky from about 50 yards out. He jumped out of the cruiser where he had
been patiently waiting. I commanded him to pursue the suspect. In a flash, he passed by us and continued another
70 or 80 yards beyond and apprehended the suspect in
full stride. All the cops that had been there were mesmerized. So much in fact that we almost forgot why we had been running after this guy. Another time, we were doing what we called sneak attacks in the projects. This consisted of several officers approached one of the high rise building from one side, while the other officer approached from the back. Usually what happened is, as the officers approached from the front, the bad guys who shouldn't be there, would run out the back into the arms of the waiting officers in the back. This time Rocky and I were the ones covering the back with open arms. As it turns out, two subjects did exactly as expected and ran into us as we were entering the back hall
of the building. At first they were cooperative especially seeing that Rocky had a watchful gaze on them. I was able
to pat down the first guy without incident, but when I went to pat the second, he suddenly turn and sucker punched me, then made a run through the courtyard towards another building. Rocky immediately responded and gave chase through the court yard, through a crowd of about 40 people that had gathered, and continued on after the suspect that had struck me. The suspect used a steel door to strike Rocky with and he got close to him in an attempt to keep him away, but that only made Rocky madder. The suspect then tried to flee through the halls of the adjoining building, but before the operation began I had locked all the access doors, thereby locking the suspect inside the hallways of that building. I still clearly remember the loud roar coming
from Rocky, just as he entered the hallway of that building after having been struck by the door. I also remember the suspect continuing to fight with the dog and I once I got there, and fight we did. Seemed to last for ever. But all
that said and done, I also remember the suspect loosing the fight and crying like a baby in its aftermath. When this all began the suspect had been fully clothed. When it ended, the only thing left unscathed were his underpants. The greatest part of all this, was hearing the residents of the projects cheering the dog as we were battling it out. Rocky earned his respect that day, and many who lived in the projects knew
his name. As to the suspect, he ended up with better then
40 puncture wounds, did three years in jail, and has never returned to the projects. Rocky stayed on patrol with me for about 5 years. During his career he was either directly responsible or assisted in over 100 felony arrests. Some being the arrest of a murder suspect, robbery suspects. Numerous narcotic arrests, (even though he was not trained for narcotics). That's where a lot of the article search came to play. And finally located hundreds of dollars in stolen merchandise and or other crime related items. Rocky was also the recipient of several USPCA citation (awards), also certifying with the NAPWDA several times, excelling in Tracking, Article Recovery and Area Searches and Passive Gun Fire. Rocky saw many street battles and as a result eventually had to be retired due to what we believe was post syndrome stress. Here is a dog that would love to do school demos, be petted by children of all ages, but now had become unsteady. The liability became to great. So Rocky retired, became a couch potato, and eventually ended up with a couple who cared for him like if he were their child. Rocky eventually died in 1996 from complications of Limes disease he had contracted when he was working the streets

Notified by Jim Cortina, CPWDA Dir.

This was Officer Eric Deltgen's 3rd K-9
In Loving Memory of
SHAKA
May of 1989 - 1996

This brings us to Shaka. Shaka was a full black German Shepherd. He had been imported as a pup, from England, from the same kennels that supply the British police with their dogs. Shaka was born in May of 1989 just outside of London, England. Having been bred specifically for police work, Shaka showed all the good qualities of a police dogs as a young pup. He loved to hunt, search for the man, and especially loved hide an seek games. This would become instrumental later when doing building searches. During a building search, Shaka would become so entangled with the search, that once he had found the man hiding, be it a closet or room, he would literally suck the oxygen out of that room. Shaka weighed about 115 lb., and had the pull of a bulldozer. Once during a training exercise, he pulled a 250 lb man out of the bathtub he had been hiding in. No matter how hard this man tried to stand up, or keep tugging back, Shaka would always bring him down. Shaka had a shinny black coat, and bright white teeth. On patrol that would work to his advantage especially at night. The bad guys wouldn't see him until it was too late or until they were up

Notified by Jim Cortina, CPWDA Dir.

close. Its amazing the reactions I got to observe. Shaka also certified with the NAPWDA, excelling in Building Searches, Area Searches, Criminal apprehensions, and Passive Gunfire. Shaka came on patrol in 1991 while Rocky was still patrolling. I was lucky for a while because I was able to patrol with two dogs. Rocky was still the main or primary dog, and Shaka was the trainee. It was amazing on how many things Shaka picked up from Rocky during the course of a shift. Shaka was well liked by the community as he had a great deal of exposure to the public. At the time there was a great emphasis of neighborhood policing, especially in the downtown sections of the city. It was not uncommon to see Shaka and I walking a beat visiting all the retailers that were on our beats. It got so that certain merchants would have treats for Shaka, and every time we walked by one of them, Shaka would literally haul me into their establishment. After a while it got to that I began wondering who was walking who. After Rocky retired, Shaka became the main and last partner I would have. We were also responsible for over 100 assists and arrest. Shaka had several apprehensions, but many of his catches, or arrests I like to call them were mainly due to his impressive stature. When he looked at you, you knew he meant business. That in itself deterred many would be fighter. Unfortunately before we knew it, because of political reasons, the K-9 unit would be disbanded. It would be another five years before we would see it re-emerge again, but by that time, I would be promoted and therefore not eligible to have another K-9 partner. Shaka was retired and came home to stay with me. He did not take lightly to retirement, often showing me his displeasure by leaving me welcome home gifts after a days work. He absolutely hated to see me off to work and leave him behind. I guess in the long run it was to do him in, as about a year an half into retirement, he developed stomach cancer and died about 7 months later. He fought until the very end. At one point we thought he might have beat it, but it wasn't meant to be. Shaka was great with children. He loved going to schools and doing little demos, and even playing tag. Today still I get asked about Shaka. Sometimes by the same ones (now grown up) that used to play with him at these school functions. Shaka left part of himself behind in peoples memories, not to mention mine. He is missed by all.

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