K9 Kona – Chesterfield, Virginia

Died 1/20/23
Handler – Officer Hagen

Chesterfield Police K-9, ‘Kona,’ unexpectedly dies

A dedicated K-9 member of the Chesterfield Police Department suddenly passed away Friday morning. The department made the announcement on Facebook later in the day.“It is with great sadness that we share the loss of a terrific and dedicated servant to Chesterfield County,” the police department said. The 10-year-old malinois, Kona, unexpectedly died on the morning of Friday, Jan. 20. Kona served Chesterfield County for eight and a half years.“Please keep Kona, her K-9 handler and family, as well as all of the other K-9 teams in your thoughts,” Chesterfield Police said in the announcement. Police said Kona made “countless contributions to the safety” of the Chesterfield community in her years of service.

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.