Originating in 1972, the Huntington Beach Police Department's K-9 Unit Program is the oldest program in Orange County. Currently there are four K-9 teams in the K-9 unit which are assigned to Patrol. When not working, the dogs live with their handlers and their families.

The K-9 Unit along with their dogs work along with the officers on patrol. The dogs are trained to protect the handler and other officers who are nearby when needed. They are trained to assist an officer even without being called. The dogs are extremely useful when searching buildings, fields, parks, etc. for fleeing or hiding suspects who are often armed. They can be used to track the direction of travel of a fleeing suspect. Upon locating the subject, the K-9 will bark to advise the handler of the find.

The dogs offer significant advantages by being more efficient, quicker, and finding subjects without seeing or hearing them.

One of the most important purposes of a police dog is to function as a deterent. During mass demonstrations, the police dog functions as a tremendously effective crowd control deterrent. If strategically deployed, one trained K-9 Team is comparable to approximately ten police officers.

WHAT KIND OF DOGS ARE USED?

Medium-sized working dogs are best suited for police work. They are strong enough to either stop a fleeing person or otherwise convey an impression of force which guarantees a successful police action. In addition to be able to fight hard to persuade a suspect to surrender, these dogs are extremely agile and faster than any human being. The Huntington Beach Police Department currently uses Belgian Malinois.

Officer D. Roberts was born and raised in Huntington Beach. After receiving his A.A. and Bachelors degrees from Golden West College/Cal State Fullerton respectively, he was hired by the H.B.P.D. in February of 1999. He graduated from the Golden West College Police Academy and was assigned to patrol on August of 1999. Officer Roberts was selected to the H.B.P.D. Canine Program in November of 2003. After working with his K-9 Partner "REMO", a Belgian Malinois from Europe, for one year the K-9 Team was sent to narcotic detection school in November of 2004. Officer Roberts and Remo continue to work patrol throughout the city and regulary conduct narcotic searches at local high schools.

Officer Reynolds has been with the Huntington Beach Police Department for five years. In 2005 he becaome a canine handler. His canine "RICO", is a Belgium Malanois and is approximately 5 years old. Officer Reynolds is Rico's first handler and he is planning on going to narcotic training within the next year.

Officer C. Ortiz has been a Police Officer for 16 years. She began her law enforcement career in Hawthorne where she worked for 7 1/2 years and was a Field Training Officer.
Officer Ortiz joined the Huntington Beach Police Department in 1996. She has worked Patrol and Narcotics Bureau for the department. She is a Field Training Officer and was assigned to the K9 Unit as a handler in January 2005. Her K9 partner Rudy is Malinois from Holland.

Officer Stoecklein is a Southern California native. He attended California State Long Beach where he received a bachelor degree in sociology. Officer Stoecklein started his career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1996. He worked patrol and detectives in Hollywood and Southeast Divisions. Officer Stoecklein joined the Huntington Beach Police Department in 2000. He has worked patrol until assigned to the K-9 unit in January of 2005. Officer Stoecklein's dog is Belgium Malinois named "DJINGO" (pronounced "jingo"). Djingo was born and raised in Holland and participated in KMPV competition.

Sergeant Bo Svendsbo

Sgt. Bo Svendsbo is the current Canine Unit supervisor. He started his law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1990. He made the move to the H.B.P.D. in 1992. He was selected as a member of the Canine Unit in 1996 and handled his canine partner Aslan(pictured above) until 1999, when Aslan retired.Aslan passed away in October 2003 at the age of 13. After being a canine officer, Bo was assigned as a Detective to the Narcotics Unit where he remained until 2002, at which time he was re-assigned to the D.E.A. Task Force. In 2003 he was assigned to the Orange County Auto Theft Task Force, where he remained until his promotion to Sergeant.

POLICE CANINE KIM
End of Watch: March 26, 1991

On Sunday, March 26, 1991, shortly after 5:00PM, Officer Jim Weaver and his canine partner were involved in a high speed pursuit into Seal Beach. At the end of the chase, the suspect tried to escape on foot and ignored repeated demands to surrender. KIM was released and chased the suspect overtaking him in a nearby parking lot.
Once on the ground, the suspect stabbed KIM several times causing major injuries to the dog. The suspect finally surrendered to officers and was charged with multiple crimes. Due to his extensive injuries, KIM died a short time later. KIM was 5 1/2 years old and served the HBPD for two years.