Flagler County, FL – The Blue Knights International local chapter has given the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) bulletproof and stab-proof equipment with cooling packs for 4 K-9 units.
Seen in the photo from left to right is K-9 Sgt. Jon Welker, Flagler County Veterans Services Officer David Lydon, Blue Knights Vice President George Zampella, K-9 Deputy Robert Tarczewski and K-9 Tag, Blue Knights President Bill Gallagher and Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly.
According to Sheriff Rick Staly, each dog costs $18,000 to be equipped and trained in detecting drugs, bomb-sniffing, apprehension and missing person searches. The dogs alone cost $10,000. 1 out of the 5 units have already received the new equipment in 2015.
The Blue Knights collaborated with the Palm Coast Elks Lodge to raise $8,000 to equip the 4 FCSO K-9 units. Retired K-9 officer and vice president of the local Blue Knights chapter, George Zampella, decided to raise the money because 5 K-9 units have been killed so far in 2017, and 28 were killed last year. A K-9 unit in Volusia County was killed in November of last year.
Zampella raised the money for bulletproof/stab-proof vests and the 6 cooling packs per vest through fundraising and donations from the community. The cooling packs will be able to cool down the dogs 2,200 times.
“We really appreciate your efforts. You’ve always been a great partner with the Sheriff’s Office and we hope to continue that partnership,” says Sheriff Staly to the local Blue Knights chapter. “We want to protect our deputies and our four-legged ones too.”
The FCSO teams of K-9 units and their human partners are:
(Image of Deputy Brandon Fiveash with Kaos courtesy of FCSO)
(Images of Deputy Robert Tarczewski with Tag courtesy of FCSO)
Photo courtesy of Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
