NYPD holds graduation for elite counter-terrorism K9 units
RANDALL'S ISLAND, Manhattan (WABC) -- The NYPD held a graduation ceremony for dogs that are part of its newest K9 units on Randalls Island on Thursday.
The 21 Labradors and German Shorthaired Pointers will now move on to work as part of the department's counter-terrorism operations.
The dogs completed mandatory 8-10 week training and can sniff out explosives, check out suspicious devices and even be deployed to a scene before their human handlers.
"When we can check and clear an area and know there are no contaminates, it allows us to create a zone where we know there is no threat," said NYPD Lt. William Esposito said.
Each of the dogs is named after a police officer who died in the line of duty.
"These are officers all of whom have died in the line of duty and the dogs are dedicated to them and it's just a nice way for the department to keep their memory alive for their family," Lt. William Esposito said.
One of the dogs is named after Lt. Giuseppe Petrosino.
The officer was killed in 1909 while on assignment in Italy. He was just 48 years old.
"Lt. Petrosino started the bomb squad and started the K-9 unit," said relative Joseph Petrosino. "The fact that I never knew the man, it's hard."
At least 10 of the dogs are named for officers who died from illnesses tied to their work following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
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