Sheriff Announces New K-9 Team to Continue in the Fight Against Crime

Union County: In the continuing effort to fight crime, Sheriff Shaun Golden is pleased to announce the newest team to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit. Sheriff’s Officer Devon Mockus and K-9 Harley, a four-year old Labrador Retriever, graduated from the Union County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Training Academy Class on December 7, after 13 weeks of intense training in explosive detection.

“It’s an honor to welcome this highly trained K-9 team to our unit. S/O Mockus and his partner Harley will prove to be a great asset to Monmouth County and local police departments,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “K-9 teams are extremely essential when it comes to bolstering homeland security capabilities by playing a vital role in protecting our county against criminal and terroristic threats, combatting the proliferation of drugs, as well as assisting in the apprehension of suspects.”

During the graduation ceremony, held in Mountainside, five teams received diplomas. They met all the requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey, Office of Attorney General guidelines. The K-9 graduate teams, who trained through tracking scent, consisted of three explosive teams and two narcotics teams.

They trained in vacant buildings, lots and offices, the Situation Training and Response Simulator (STARS) facility in Freehold and with the United States Park Police K-9 and Marine Units at Ellis and Liberty Islands.

The academy also focused on case law, crime scene preservation, basic obedience, agility, environmental training and socialization with crowds.

“I’m grateful to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office for providing Harley and me with such a great experience and opportunity,” said S/O Devon Markus. “K-9s are extremely valuable when it comes to fighting crime. I’m proud to be a part of our explosive detection team, specializing in responses dealing with potentially dangerous situations.”

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit presently consists of seven handlers and eight K-9s. The Unit includes one explosive team, two explosive/patrol teams, three narcotics/patrol teams, one narcotics team and one tracking team. They are called on year-round to assist local police departments with narcotics detection, explosive detection and criminal or missing person searches. In 2017, the K-9 Unit responded to 225 explosive detection calls, 270 tracking calls and 219 narcotics calls.

For a downloadable version of this press release, click here:  News Release – Sheriff Announces New K-9 Team to Continue in the Fight Against Crime