K9 Lexie – Brentwood, Tennessee

Died – 5/1/24
Handler – Officer Steve Holder

Retired Brentwood Police K9 Passes Away

K9 Lexie, a 15-year-old female Belgian Malinois who served with Brentwood Police for several years, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.Lexie was approximately one year old when she was trained in Northport, Alabama at the Alabama Canine Law Enforcement Training Center. She completed four months of training to detect the odor of four controlled substances: Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamines and Heroin. Lexie was certified as a Narcotic Detection Canine on September 17, 2010.Officer Holder and K9 Lexie became a team in 2012 when they completed a ten week Narcotic Detection Canine Handler School presented by the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Canine Training Division. They successfully re-certified annually by the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) from 2012 – 2019.Lexie served BPD from August of 2010 until her retirement in February of 2020. Since then, she lived with Officer Holder and his family.

Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.