K9 Tazer – Newberry Township, Pennsylvania

Died – 1/23/19
Handler – Sgt. Christopher Martinez

Newberry Township Police K-9 Tazer dies

Newberry Township Police K-9 Tazer, who had been with the department for more than 8 years, died Wednesday, the department announced. “K9 Tazer’s health recently deteriorated to the point that he had to be laid to rest today,” the department posted on its website. “Throughout his 8 ½ career with his handler, Sgt. Christopher Martinez, K9 Tazer successfully specialized in patrol, narcotics detection, and tracking.” K-9 Tazer had received several medals and four chief commendations during his service with the department. “K9 Tazer was a true warrior to the very end and will be missed by many,” the department posted to its website. The department shared the sad news on its Facebook page around 6:15 p.m Wednesday. That post was shared more than 500 times in 35 minutes. Tazer was a German Shepherd from the Czech Republic. He was trained for the department at Castle’s K-9s in Mechanicsburg. Tazer cost the department $13,000 back in 2010, but no tax dollars were used to purchase him, said then-Police Chief John Snyder. Instead, money from a fund the department had designated for community service as well as money from fund-raising efforts was used. Snyder said back in 2011 that the department chose to get a K-9 trained in narcotics detection because the department dealt with drugs a lot. Tazer’s special skills could be used in investigations when an officer suspected drugs hidden in a vehicle, but could’t get permission from its owner to conduct a search, for example.

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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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