CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A new officer has joined the Corpus Christi Police Department.
He goes simply by "Evans," and he's the new K9 member of CCPD. He was welcomed into the department with a special badge pinning ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
According to CCPD officials, K9 Evans, a Dutch Shepard from the Netherlands, was brought to the city thanks to the Corpus Christi Police Foundation, and donations from the Corpus Christi Medical Center and Paulette and Victor Guajardo.
Wednesday afternoon, Evans was welcomed to the force after three months of specialized training.
"We've been waiting for Evans to arrive, (and) I'm very grateful," Mayor Paulette Guajardo said. "These K9 dogs are extremely important to the department. They serve a different role."
According to the department, Evans' precursor to joining CCPD included three weeks of Odor Detection training, patrol functions training, building searches and apprehensions. By the end of the training, Evans completed narcotics detection and patrol duties certifications.
Evans lives with and completed his training with his handler, Senior Officer Pedro Muniz. Muniz, an officer for 21 years, said he was excited to join the K9 Unit and work with Evans - his first K9 partner.
Muniz couldn't get into specifics, but he did mention Evans has already made a major apprehension.
"He made an alert on a package, and that package happened to contain, 1.14 kilograms of fentanyl," Muniz said. "But throughout that - we've been on duty for a couple of months now, and he's made other apprehensions and detention."
CCPD officials said seven police dogs serve with the department, and they are "an essential component of modern law enforcement, filling a vital role in the fight against crime." Police dogs usually serve in the force for 6-9 years.
"These dogs have one job and one job only," CCPD Captain Donald Moore said. "And that job is to serve and protect the citizens of Corpus Christi."
