K9 Hammer – Newport News, Virginia

Died – 2/2/17
Handler – Officer Hatton

Newport News police mourn sudden loss of K-9 Hammer

The Newport News Police Department is mourning the loss of one of their own: K-9 Hammer. Five-year-old Hammer passed away Thursday during a dental procedure. The department says Hammer was a dual purpose German Shepherd trained in narcotics detection and patrol. He was born in September 2011 and joined the force in June 2012. After completing training in January 2013, Hammer was assigned to Master Police Officer Hatton and has been by his side since. Recently, MPO Hatton and Hammer received an Award of Merit from the Virginia Police Work Dog Association for their work to catch a hit-and-run suspect in Gloucester in May 2016. The suspect was found and taken into custody thanks to their hard work. Hammer and MPO Hatton were also part of the Violent Crimes Reduction Task Force that formed in November 2016. They worked together with officers from other divisions to get violent criminals off the streets. The police department says the team were instrumental in the task force’s success. Department officials are still working to arrange a memorial service in honor of K-9 Duke, who passed away just last week. They have yet to discuss a memorial for Hammer.

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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.
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