Orange County Sheriff’s Office Holds K-9 Academy Graduation

GOSHEN – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office hosted its K-9 Academy graduation on Friday, July 7th at the County’s Emergency Services Center in Goshen.

Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, Sheriff Carl E. DuBois, Undersheriff Kenneth T. Jones, Assistant Undersheriff Anthony Weed, Legislator Jim O’Donnell and several local law enforcement officials attended the event. The graduates were Deputy Kevin Golden from the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office and his K-9 Lennon, Town of Woodbury Officer Jahn Farrell and K-9 Zeke, Town of Wallkill Officer Ian Holmes and K-9 Argo, City of Port Jervis Officer Andrew Haniuk and K-9 Roan and Village of Goshen Sergeant John Manna and K-9 Melville.

The K-9’s and their handlers were trained by Sergeant David Campbell and Sergeant Dustin Palen from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The 16-week training included instruction on obedience, tracking, agility, suspect searches, apprehension techniques and handler protection.

“We are all proud of the wonderful work that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit performs on a daily basis,” Neuhaus said. “Sergeant Campbell and Sergeant Palen are true professionals and did a superb job preparing the K-9’s and their handlers for patrol operations. We wish them the best of luck and will continue to support law enforcement in Orange County.”

Added DuBois: “The graduates will be assets to their police departments and the communities that they serve. This collaboration between the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and our local police departments help to make our communities more safe and secure for all of our residents.