HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — As News 19 makes its way across North Alabama highlighting local law enforcement and their K9 units, this week’s segment features TWO of Huntsville Police Department’s finest (and cutest)!
Introducing Officer Adam Judy & K9 “Smoke,” and Officer Gober & K9 “Kane.”
Officer Adam Judy & K9 “Smoke”:
Officer Judy has been a police officer for five and a half years and has been a canine handler since March of 2020. When he became a K9 handler, Officer Judy was certified through the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) with K9 “Judge.” As a team, they won “Top Dog” in Region 22 of the USPCA in September of 2020.
K9 Judge was retired around February of 2021 and Officer Judy began training K9 Smoke in March of 2021.
After three months of training, Officer Judy and Smoke began working the streets in July of 2021.
In July of 2021, Smoke assisted the North Alabama Drug Task Force in locating over $3,000 worth of fentanyl.
That August, Smoke helped capture a burglar who had broken into a local commercial store on University Drive.
In September, Smoke caught another burglar and “breaking & entering to an automobile” offender, who was also trying to break into a resident’s home, according to HPD.
That October, Smoke assisted North Precinct officers in finding both a felony offender that was wanted for several crimes and a burglary offender that broke into a local church.
In addition to assisting patrol units across the City of Huntsville, Officer Judy and K9 Smoke have assisted the North Alabama Drug Task Force and the Huntsville SWAT team on multiple operations.
Officer Jordan Gober & K9 “Kane”:
Officer Gober and K9 Kane have been working together since May 26, 2021.
Kane is a 3-year-old Dutch Shepherd.
Officer Gober received Kane from an out-of-state police department when they were unable to find a suitable handler for him. Upon receipt of Kane, a medical inspection was conducted and the vet found that Kane had a fractured upper left canine tooth with an exposed root, so a stainless steel tooth was formed and implanted to replace it.
After a 10-week basic handler course, Officer Gober and Kane hit the street.
On the last night of their first week working together, they responded to a robbery and performed a 300-yard hard surface track where they found the offender and were able to capture him.
Officer Gober and Kane have been an asset to Patrol Officers as well as SWAT and the North Alabama Drug Task Force in the location and apprehension of suspects, as well as locating narcotics.
Officer Gober and Kane have certifications by the USPCA in obedience, criminal apprehension, agility, narcotics detection and tracking.
Huntsville Police Department’s Sergeant Rosalind White says the two look forward to continuing to serve the community and keep the streets of Huntsville safe!
