Karlo the APD's newest member.
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Amarillo Police Department has a new member. Karlo a 2 and half year old black labrador is the APD's newest member and has joined the K-9 unit.
Karlo was given and trained by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives. He is part of nearly 200 K-9's that have been trained by ATF and given to local, state, or other federal agencies.
Karlo was trained for ten weeks, before Officer Mike Willis trained for an additional ten weeks with him. The training and all expenses was paid for by ATF. The police department was only out the cost of travel and the officers salary during the ten weeks of schooling.
In exchange for the K-9, APD will assist ATF and/or other local, state, or federal agencies when needed.
Officer Willis and Karlo have been on the job working together since December 2009 and have been involved in nearly a dozen searches for different incidents. The pair have also assisted ATF on a couple different searches, and have also helped Special Crimes and the Drive-By shooting response team with investigations.
Karlo isn't your average dog, he is certified in detecting 19,000 explosive compounds and he is also able to detect firearms and ammunition.
Karlo and Officer Willis along with several other officers nationwide, assisted in the search of the Cowboys Stadium before the NBA's All-star game back in February.
