This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Clinton Police K-9 Unit Returns from Training

As of early October, the Clinton Police Department officially has another officer on its staff: Sonny the German shepherd.

Officer Jason Frey, the department’s K9 officer, said the he and Sonny completed “six months of part-time and full-time training totaling almost 800 hours.”

Though Sonny has only been on the force a few weeks, Frey said that he has already seen the benefits of having a dog on the force.

“We’ve had three or four narcotics call-outs and found dugs we wouldn’t have without him,” Frey said, citing an incident at ShopRite where the police were called for a suspected shoplifting, and Sonny detected narcotics on the scene as well.

In addition to narcotics detection and trafficking, the dog was trained in an array of different scenarios including de-escalation tactics, searches, evidence recovery, and apprehensions.

“Use of apprehension is a last resort,” Frey said.

The training program included a bonding period for Sonny and Frey to get comfortable with each other, as well as a chance for Sonny to get used to taking commands from Frey.

“It’s a work dog, not a pet,” Frey said. “He gets treated as work dog 24/7.”

Frey has set up an Instagram account for himself and Sonny, which can be found under the username Clinton_police_k9. Frey posts photos, a mix of Sonny working and at home, to show people what he and Sonny are up to.

“It’s good for the public to see,” Frey said.

Frey said that Sonny’s police career is expected to last from 6 to 10 years.

Last March, the Board of Selectman voted to reestablish the K-9 program after it had been abandoned. The Clinton Police Department raised more than $15,000 through fundraisers and donations to train and purchase the new dog. The dog is named Sonny after Sonny Whelen, the owner of Whelen Engineering in Chester, who made a generous contribution to the help the department return the K-9 program.