K9 Turbo – Larado, Texas

Died – 10/6/20
Handler – Officer Armando Aguilar

A Laredo police K- 9 officer has been placed on administrative duties following the death of his dog, authorities said Wednesday. Officer Armando Aguilar, a 9-year veteran police officer, has been placed on administrative re-assignment for the death of his partner Turbo, a 4-year-old Dutch Shepherd that was with LPD for about 2 ½ years. “Our department is mourning Turbo’s loss as we would with any of our employees,” said Laredo Police Chief Claudio Treviño Jr. in a statement. “Our K-9s are an indispensable part of our department and continue to view them as our partners.” An incident was reported at about 7 p.m. Tuesday when Aguilar found Turbo unresponsive inside his assigned K-9 unit. The incident occurred at the home of the K-9 handler after his shift, authorities said. LPD is conducting internal and criminal investigations into the case. “The Laredo Police Department has safety equipment installed in its police K-9 vehicles in addition to policies in place regarding the care and well being of our K-9s,” Treviño stated. “We will be conducting a thorough investigation with fair and swift action into this matter and enhance all necessary measures to continue the safety of our K-9 partners.” The criminal investigation will then be presented to the Webb County District Attorney’s Office for their review. “It is, definitely, with great sadness that I address the passing of Turbo, our K-9 officer,” said Laredo City Manager Robert Eads in a statement. “As a valuable member of our police force, he will be greatly missed. We understand that an investigation will continue, but I will look into the options to strengthen the training and security measures so that this unfortunate event does not happen in our community again.” This is the second incident this year that involves the death of a K-9 officer. In August, then Airport Police Officer Mario A. Larranaga Jr. left his partner, K-9 Officer Chester, unattended inside a locked vehicle. Larranaga returned and found the dog unresponsive. Chester later died. Larranaga offered his resignation on Aug. 31, according to his termination letter. That case remains open.

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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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