Over 15 K9 handlers participated in the two-day certification hosted by Investigator Daniel Kaufman from the 81st Judicial District held at Charlotte High School last week. Those participating in the training included (in no particular order) Atascosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Ruiz, Floresville Police Department Officer Reuben Garcia, Live Oak County Sheriff’s Deputies James Nolan and Paul Pearman, Pearsall ISD Officers’ Abraham Cantu and Bryan Jackson, La Vernia PD Officer Eric Hutchison, Frio County Sheriff’s Deputies Kyle Stacks and Eugene Rodriguez, Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputies Joseph Canales and Kevin Rasmussen, Karnes County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Kurtz, Medina County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Ricardo Delgado and Jerry Thomas, La Salle County Sheriff’s Sergeant Enrique Velez and Deputy Victor Alvarado. CADE ANDREWS | PLEASANTON EXPRESS
For the third year, K9 certification and training was brought to Atascosa County.
Investigator Daniel Kaufman with the 81st Judicial District hosted the two-day training at Charlotte High School last week with over 15 handlers from throughout the area.
As part of Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), K9 investigators are required to participate in 16 hours of training each month. The two-day training consisted of an in-class overview discussing case law and policies as well as handson training scenarios for handlers before they earned certification.
During the hands-on training, K9 teams were tasked with finding illegal narcotics in a series of classrooms. The focus of the hands-on training was to eliminate any deficiencies in the dogs and praise them each time they located the specific narcotic.
Handlers who attended the course included Atascosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Ruiz, Floresville Police Department Officer Reuben Garcia, Live Oak County Sheriff’s Deputies James Nolan and Paul Pearman, Pearsall ISD Officers’ Abraham Cantu and Bryan Jackson, La Vernia PD Officer Eric Hutchison, Frio County Sheriff’s Deputies Kyle Stacks and Eugene Rodriguez, Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputies Joseph Canales and Kevin Rasmussen, Karnes County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Kurtz, Medina County Sheriff’s Office Deputies Ricardo Delgado and Jerry Thomas, La Salle County Sheriff’s Sergeant Enrique Velez and Deputy Victor Alvarado.
With a handful of K9s and handlers participating in the training, Investigator Kaufman reiterated the advantages for those who attended.
“We got guys with one year to 15 years experience here,” Kaufman said. “So we’re all able to learn from each other and help each other out and that was the whole idea about us all coming together to do this.”
Inv. Kaufman and the 81st Judicial District hopes to continue this training in the county at no cost to handlers.
“I am very proud of Inv. Kaufman and his commitment to helping others K9 teams grow and learn!” said 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Louis.