Currently, the Rock Island Police Department has one K-9, Officer Alex Bowman and his partner Sparky Jackson. The K-9 is a Belgian Malinois who is assigned to only one handler and lives with the officer at his home. The officer is responsible for the care and maintenance of his K-9.
The Canine Team is trained as “an all purpose” utility team in:
- Obedience
- Tracking
- Article Searches
- Area Searches
- Building Searches
- Narcotics Detection
- Fugitive Apprehension
- Officer Safety
K-9 Training
The canine and his handler undergoes twelve weeks of initial training. One day a month is spent at a structured training session with other local police agencies to improve upon their skills. The handler also spends countless hours of their own time working with their K-9 to master each task.
Demonstrations
Along with patrol duties, the canine team also give canine demonstrations for many different groups and organizations. To request a canine demonstration Email the canine supervisor, Lieutenant Ryan DeRudder.