K9 Einstein- Baltimore, Maryland

Handler – Officer S. Reiter

Baltimore County K-9 Einstein, A Pioneering Bomb Sniffer Passes

There are many great ones that hailed from Baltimore over the years. Babe Ruth, David Hasselhoff, Michael Phelps, Frank Zappa, Montel Williams, and the great baller Reggie Lewis. But none made as much of an impact on the city as pioneering K9 sniffer Einstein. Einstein was the city’s oldest living K9 officer until his retirement earlier this month.“It is with great sadness that the K9 Unit announces the passing of K9 Einstein. K9 Einstein passed with his handler and longtime friend, Officer S. Reiter at his side,” the Baltimore County Police Department said.“Einstein was our oldest bomb dog until his retirement in June and he helped usher in a new era in bomb detection work within the K9 Unit. Prior to Einstein, the bomb/gun dog program mimicked the narcotics K9 training program. In 2013 and under the leadership of Officer Reiter, the bomb/gun dog program began to change/expand,” the department said after his passing. “The training took on a more realistic approach and the number of training aids used went from a few to more than 20.”Under that leadership, the department said training venues became much more realistic and bomb dogs went from small room searches to large outdoor venues.Officer Reiter was a driving force behind this change, from which the entire department now benefits. Einstein wasn’t just a co-worker, he was also part of Officer Reiter’s family.“In fact, the realism that we now incorporate in bomb dog training is a direct result of Reiter’s vision and subsequent follow through,” the department said. “Please keep OFC Reiter and his family in your thoughts during this difficult time.”

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.