(Fort Wayne, IN)-The Indiana State Police Post in Fort Wayne said goodbye to a valuable member of its police family as it has been announced that Patrol K-9 “Gunnar” has been retired following seven years of faithful service to the Department, the citizens and to his handler, Master Trooper Brad Shultz.
Gunnar and Shultz began their crime fighting career together on June 13, 2008 following their graduation from the 14 week K-9 Training Academy at the Allen County Sheriff Department. Together, the team received over 500 hours of training in drug detection, tracking, evidence/article searching, building searching, obedience and controlled aggression. They were one of four Patrol K-9 teams assigned to the Fort Wayne Post.
During his seven year career, Gunnar and Shultz worked with multiple state, local and federal agencies including the FBI Safe Street Task Force, Northeast Indiana IMAGE Task Force, ISP SWAT Team, the ATF, DEA, United States Postal Inspection Service and Federal Express. Gunnar helped to achieve the following:
-
849 searches (vehicle, article and building)
-
39 tracks
-
314 assists for other agencies
-
332 arrests
-
120 programs to schools and other community groups
-
471 pounds of marijuana seized
-
6 pounds of cocaine seized
-
7.7 pounds of heroin seized
-
$1.6 million in assets related to illegal narcotic trafficking
“Of the opportunities that I’ve had as a Trooper, this was by far the most rewarding, exciting and fulfilling of my career,” said Shultz, “it afforded me the opportunity to be involved in all facets of law enforcement, including working with undercover officers, homicide investigations, interstate narcotics trafficking, etc.”
