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WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh Police Bureau established a K-9 Unit in 1958 where officers were combined with canines to enhance public/officer safety, expand police capabilities and improve overall department efficiency; and,
WHEREAS, Officers and qualified dogs go through an intensive 3 month training program at the K-9 Academy before being assigned to a duty location and are trained to find illegal drugs, guns and explosives while their primary mission is to locate people, track suspects and endangered persons; and,
WHEREAS, Office Casey Lockard , who has been a Pittsburgh Police Officer for ten years, became a K-9 Officer and the handler for K-9 Ben in April of 2005. Ben was a dual purpose K-9, having been trained in narcotic detection and as a patrol dog, was a favorite of fellow officers because of his friendly and affectionate manner, worked in every zone with Officer Lockard as well as having covered 2 Super Bowl celebrations, 1 Stanley Cup celebration and the G20. Ben lived with the Lockard Family in Brookline consisting of Office Lockard, wife Jennifer and children Aiden and Lily, and became part of the Lockard family as well as part of his police family; and,
WHEREAS, on November 12, 2010, Ben, who with Officer Lockard was named an Officer of the Month Award in November 2006 and who excelled in his job as a patrol/ narcotics dog, sniffing out drugs, vehicles, houses, areas and suspects, tracking people and drugs, became seriously ill and died unexpectedly ; and,
WHEREAS, the death of K-9 Ben has been a tremendous loss to the Pittsburgh Police Bureau and to Officer Casey Lockard and his family.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh takes this opportunity to recognize the Pittsburgh Police Bureau's K-9 Unit, a division of the Bureau with exceptional dedication from its officers and dogs, an efficient addition to law enforcement and with extraordinary outcomes and at this time recognizes the c...
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