The Valparaiso Police Department is pleased to announce the arrival of K9 Keno, assigned to Lt. Jerame Simpson, to the department. K9 Keno is an 18-month-old Dutch Shepherd, who was purchased with funds obtained from the Porter County Substance Abuse Council Community Grant. Keno and Simpson recently completed full utility training at F.M K9 of Berrien Springs, Michigan, from where Keno was purchased. The certification falls within the North American Police Work Dog Association standards, in which all Valparaiso Police K9 teams meet annually. Keno is now certified in narcotic detection, tracking, building/area search, article search, and obedience. Simpson is a 15-year veteran of the Valparaiso Police Department and a career K9 handler.
Keno is his third partner in 13 years. Simpson is currently assigned to the Patrol Division, where he serves as a crew leader and supervisor. Simpson and Keno have completed all their training in the last several weeks. They worked their first shift together last week, after having celebrated the retirement of Simpson’s previous partner, Rico.