SAN ANGELO, Texas — The San Angelo Police Department announced the retirement of one of its Police K9s, Vader. Vader's official retirement date was March 14.
In 2015, Vader began his career in the SAPD K9 unit. From 2015 until his retirement, Vader served his community with his tracking, drug detection and handler protection skills. During his career, Vader had two handlers Sgt. Chris Cimino and Officer Tanner Tumlinson.
The life of a police K9 revolves around constant training. Vader accumulated more than 3000 hours of training throughout his career. Those thousands of hours were physically demanding of both the dog and the handler. The ultimate reward for a police K9 is the deployment and use of its skills. Vader loved pleasing his handlers and protecting his fellow officers, the SAPD said on its Facebook page.
"Police K9s have a profound impact on the communities they serve. Police K9 Vader has significantly affected the drug trade and reduced the number of dangerous drugs in our community," the post said.
Throughout his career, Vader helped seize:
• 27,175 grams or 60 pounds of marijuana
• 6,369 grams or 14 pounds of methamphetamine
• 233 grams of cocaine
• 164 grams of heroin
A police K9’s effectiveness is not based solely on the amount of drugs it helps to seize. The apprehension of dangerous criminals and the protection they provide to their handlers and fellow officers is critical to reducing crime and protecting the public.
"Vader helped in the arrests of 285 people involved in numerous crimes. Many of those people seriously threatened our community and the officers who pursued them," the SAPD said. "Vader never hesitated to serve the community and his actions undoubtedly saved the lives of police officers, community members and even a few suspects."
Beyond the enforcement actions Vader accomplished in his career, he interacted with hundreds, if not thousands of children and adults during police K9 demonstrations throughout the community.
The unwavering loyalty a police K9 shows to their handlers creates an unbreakable bond. That is why the SAPD announced Vader will remain in the care of his handler, Officer Tumlinson, for the remainder of his life.
"The San Angelo Police Department and our community thank Police K9 Vader for his incredible service. We all hope he will enjoy being a regular dog with a family that will care for him for the rest of his life,' the department said.
(Editor's note: The attached video was originally released in 2019)
