The Dartmouth Police Dept. K-9 unit has a long and successful history within the Dartmouth Police Department. Currently the K9 division is back to 2 teams, Officer White with his partner “Reaper”, and Officer Pimental with his partner “Anja”. Officer Lackie was promoted to Sergeant shortly after retiring his partner “Tonka”, and is now the Supervisor of the K9 division.
Our K-9 teams are highly trained and require the utmost dedication by the handlers. These officers are responsible for their partners 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They live at home with the officers, and become a member of their family. The German shepherds are certified as patrol dogs, which encompasses tracking, obedience, agility, article, building, and area searches, crowd control, as well as criminal apprehension. Most commonly they are also certified in narcotics and explosives detection. The Blood Hound is certified in tracking, obedience, agility, article, building, and area searches.
The K-9 teams are required to maintain their certifications and train twice a month to keep their skills sharp. They also perform public demonstrations throughout the year to educate the public of the services they provide. The K-9 teams also assist neighboring cities, and towns when available.
Unit History
Starting in 1974, when then Sgt. Stephen Soares graduated the K9 Academy with a Rhodesian Ridgeback “Sarge” the K-9 unit has been providing valuable support still today without interruption, to the Town of Dartmouth. Unfortunately, all 3 of the retired K9’s have passed away after distinguished service to the Town.
In 2000, upon the retirement of Officers Maranhas and Vincent, the department under the supervision of Sgt. Gary Soares revamped the program by adding three K9 teams, Officers Charles Lackie and Jared White continued with German Shepherds “Tonka” and “Topper”, and Officer Craig Pimental added a Bloodhound “Edgar”. These dogs all received national certifications in Patrol and Tracking/Trailing.In 1983, Retired Officers Fred Maranhas and Ken Vincent continued the program when “Sarge” retired and Sgt. Soares was promoted to Chief of Police. For nearly 17 years, Officers Maranhas and Vincent worked the streets with their German Shepherd partners “Max”, “Grief”, “Ama”, and “Gamma” belonging to Maranhas, and Officer Vincent and his partners “Jake”, “Jake II”, “Rex”, and “Kinde”. During this time Officer Vincent and his partner Jake II were involved in one of the largest drug seizures in the Northeast by locating a large amount of Marijuana hidden on a New Bedford based fishing boat.
For the next 10 years the trio were responsible for multiple responses which successfully resulted in criminal apprehensions, location of lost and injured persons who’s lives were ultimately saved. The K9 Teams were also an integral part of the response to the Umass Dartmouth Riots during the 2004 MLB playoffs and World Series.