K9 Nero – Selma, Alabama

Died – 10/24/15
Handler – Sgt. David Massey

Selma police K-9 dies of cancer

One of Selma Police Department’s three K9 officers has died. Nero, who had been with the department since January 2012, died of cancer Saturday. Nero’s handler, Sgt. David Massey, says the Belgian Malinois was a good dog that did his job and was a good family member at home. Nero, who was a dual-purpose police dog, worked his last shift Friday night. Massey says Nero had been sick for a while, but that he still had a desire to work and was still healthy enough to perform his duties. During his nearly three years with the department, Nero has helped get drugs off the streets and make several arrests. Police Chief John Brock says having police dogs makes a huge difference in the department.

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.