K9 Ghost – Merseyside, England

Died – 11/8/16
Handler – Constable Dave Bartley

Merseyside Police dog killed while on duty

A Merseyside police dog has been killed while on duty. German Shepherd Ghost was found dead early this morning on the M6 motorway after being hit by a vehicle. The dog, who would have been four-years-old next week, had been searching for intruders after the alarm was raised at an address at Southworth Road in Newton-le-Willows . PD Ghost and handler Constable Dave Bartley were called at around 4am to try and trace the offenders. But a short while later he was found on the motorway and died after suffering traumatic injuries after being hit by a vehicle – police say was not connected with the incident they were involved in. Ghost, had been a serving police dog for nearly four years, and worked with Constable Bartley on numerous jobs including one recently whilst off duty where a man was detained for theft of a car in the St Helens area. On one of their last shifts together PD Ghost and Constable Bartley located a man who was hiding in a wooded area after a report of an incident in Norris Green and located a cash box from a taxi driver after it had stolen from the cab. Earlier this year Constable Bartley and Ghost were called to the area around Mather Avenue after reports of an aggravated burglary.

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.