K9 Solo – Clarksville, Tennessee

Died 9/20/19
K9 Handler – Sgt. Scruggs

Clarksville police mourns the loss of K9 officer Solo

Clarksville police are mourning the loss of one of their K9s. Police said K9 officer Solo passed away peacefully after serving the Clarksville Police Department since 2011. Solo was a 10-year-old German Shephard and he was dual trained for patrol activities and narcotics detection. He was partnered with Sgt, Joe Scruggs on daily patrol and deployed to well over 400 calls to locate narcotics, search buildings, track down bad guys, and perform public demonstrations to highlight the capabilities of police K9s. Sgt. Scruggs was Solo’s only partner from 2011 until his retirement in 2019. Solo remained with Sergeant Scruggs and his family until his passing Friday.

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.