K9 Buzz – West Midlands, England

Died – 9/15/24
Handler – PC Matt Thompson

West Midlands Police pay tribute to ‘fantastic’ PD Buzz who died from heart attack

West Midlands Police have paid tribute to a “fantastic” serving police dog who died after suffering a heart attack.PD Buzz was born in 2019 and became a fully licensed police dog in 2021.The force said that during his initial course, he was described as a “shaken bottle of pop”, until he was partnered with PC Matt Thompson. They became an “incredible pairing and were inseparable”.In 2023, Buzz and PC Thompson went on to achieve their firearms support dog licence and have detained countless of criminals together.West Midlands Police have often shared Buzz and PC Thompson’s many successes on our WMPDogs X channel, such as the time he located a drink driver hiding in bushes or the time he helped detain an offender armed with a crowbar.He also helped to keep the public and officers safe at a European football game last November.During his time as a police dog, Buzz recovered drugs from many hiding places, detained fleeing car thieves and supported other police forces with their operations.On Sunday, September 15, Buzz died suddenly of a heart attack leaving his handler and family heartbroken. Inspector Leanne Chapman from the Dog Unit, said: “Buzz was a fantastic police dog and did all of us at WMP proud, but especially his handler Matt.“The bond between a handler and their dog is unbelievably strong and I know Matt and his family are devastated.“Police dogs are an incredible asset to our police force and their skills are unmatched. Buzz will be missed – thank you for your service.”

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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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