K9 Rocky Springfield, Missouri

Handler – Lt. Jason Copley

Springfield Police mourn the loss of K9 Officer Rocky

The Springfield Police Department’s (SPD) retired K9 officer, Rocky, died at home last week.“Rocky was rare. Regardless of the hour, the grind, or the conditions, he lived to serve,” said Rocky’s handler, Lt. Jason Copley. “He served us well with a smile on his face, a joyful heart and his signature wobble.” The press release stated that Rocky started with the company in 2011. In his tenure, he found 23,452 grams of meth, 70,668 grams of marijuana, 116 grams of cocaine, 500 grams of heroin as well as recovered $174,434 in drug proceeds.Rocky was 14 years old and served SPD for nine years before retiring in 2020.

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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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