K9 Justice – Lawrence, Indiana

Died – 7/7/24
Handler – Sergeant Bishop

Lawrence Police Department mourns sudden loss of K-9 Justice

The Lawrence Police Department is grieving the unexpected loss of its beloved K-9 Justice, who passed away Sunday morning. K9 Justice passed away unexpectedly while off-duty. K9 Justice suffered a medical emergency known as Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV), also commonly known as Bloat. Despite the best efforts of the VCA Beech Grove Animal Hospital staff and his handler, Sergeant Bishop, K9 Justice did not survive.”Justice became part of the Lawrence Police Department in August 2020 and has been serving faithfully alongside Sergeant Bishop since January 2022.In the announcement, the LPD also requests the community to keep Sergeant Bishop, his family, and the extended Lawrence Police family in their thoughts and prayers as they cope with this profound loss.

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.