DRPS Canine Unit

He is a Dutch Shepherd, who was born in Canada and works alongside D/Cst. Rodgers. Brooks is the newest PSD within our K9 unit, but that hasn't stopped this duo from helping our service on many calls within his first 7 months. One of Brooks' unique characteristics is how long is tongue is, it's joked sometimes that he opens his mouth as wide as a snake. You may also be wondering where his name comes from...hint hint D/Cst. Rodgers enjoys listening to country music.

Their first and most memorable call was just hours after receiving their badge. On February 1, 2023 they sprung into action for a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle. The suspects fled the vehicle running into a residential area, and a K9 track was immediately initiated by D/Cst. Rodgers and PSD Brooks. PSD Brooks did a lengthy track in -25C weather, went over multiple fences and frozen creeks, and into dense bush where they located the suspects hiding. Great work!

Meet PSD Flex, who is the longest serving Police Service Dog within our K9 unit currently. Flex works alongside D/Cst. Handscomb and has been on 5,003 calls for service during his eight-year career totaling 2,530 operational hours, and has helped tremendously to keep our communities safer. Flex, sometimes referred to as “Flexy” is a German Shepherd, who was born in the Czech Republic. His birthday is on June 29, 2015 and he loves playing with a ball on his downtime.

Their most memorable call together was for a missing female party in Uxbridge who was possibly in distress. She had been missing for approximately five hours in freezing temperatures. After a one-hour track through the freezing temps in a rural area, and travelling more than 1km PSD Flex and D/Cst Handscomb located the female in medical distress. If it were not for this duo finding her, the outcome would have been completely different. Great work in saving a life!

PSD Hawk, who works alongside D/Cst Wright. Hawk is a Dutch Shepherd who was born in Holland, and his birthday is on March 27, 2017. He was given his name due to the golden colour of his eyes. This duo has been on many calls throughout their career, and have helped tremendously in keeping our communities safer. While on a pursuit, Hawk was even hit by a vehicle and got up quickly without major injury and wanted to keep working.

Their most memorable call together was when they were involved in a pursuit of a stolen truck and camper. The pursuit started in Clarington then moved North through Oshawa and made their way down to the 401 headed into Toronto. At one point the vehicles exited and went the wrong way at the lights and propped the vehicle up on the dividing median curb. Air1 was leading and calling the vehicles movements.  While on the curb, both suspects exited the vehicle and were attempting to disconnect the camper when officers arrived. Once D/Cst Wright got PSD Hawk out of the vehicle, the suspects saw the duo and started running back to their vehicle. Hawk apprehended the passenger by the leg as he was getting into the truck. D/Cst Wright ran up and grabbed the passenger to remove them from the truck, and that’s when the driver saw him and put the vehicle in drive and floored it to get away.

Because of the sudden speed, D/Cst Wright lost his grip and PSD Hawk had his back legs on the ground and being slightly dragged. Hawk continued to chase the truck down the side of the road, and was recalled back and they jumped back into the truck. Since backup officers were going to be a prolonged period of time behind and with the help of Air1, they followed the vehicles into Toronto where the vehicle was dumped. This was an unfamiliar area and suspects had an obvious plan to evade capture with possible assistance based on where they ditched the truck and where they ran to. Both occupants fled from the vehicle and attempted to run into a building, but were unable to out run Hawk where he apprehended one suspect while the other used him as a shield before fleeing. The fleeing suspect was later located and arrested. Great work by all involved!

PSD Kaos, who works alongside our first female handler within the K9 Unit D/Cst Elkington. Kaos is a Belgian Malinois who was born in New Jersey, and his birthday is on June 8, 2020. He loves working and by the end of his shift he doesn’t want to go home and stop patrolling. He will play with some toys on his downtime, but his all time favourite chew toy is a pair of leather gloves.

Their most memorable call together was for an armed home invasion. Suspects had fled the residence with a large quantity of stolen items and were actively fleeing from police. With the help of West Division officers, a perimeter was set up and Kaos deployed. The subsequent track led through multiple back yards where Kaos located stolen items that had been dropped by the fleeing suspects. Despite the suspects attempts to jump onto roof tops to evade capture they were peacefully brought into custody after being located by Kaos. After the track Kaos was deployed for an evidence search and located every item that was stolen from the home. This demonstrated what a team of police officers can accomplish when working together with the help of a police service dog. Great work!

PSD Klutch, who works alongside D/Cst. King. Klutch is a Belgian Malinois who was born on May 31, 2017 in Canada. He has quite the personality and loves to swim...he even wanted to cool down at the end of his photoshoot. An interesting fact about Klutch is his ability to complete standing vertical jumps that often exceed 7 feet. 

Their most memorable call together was for a missing party distress. The party still had their cellphone on them and the phone was pinged, resulting in uniform officers locating their un-occupied vehicle on a rural road. When the phone was pinged again, officers were advised the phone had been turned off, making it impossible for any further contact. 

Since it was unknown in what direction the party walked away from their vehicle, a K9 track was initiated. PSD Klutch and D/Cst. King were deployed in an attempt to track the missing party in the heavily forested area. As soon as they started, PSD Klutch locked onto a track and followed it for 1.5kms and located the party in distress. After a lengthy negotiation, the party was transported to a hospital for assistance. If it wasn't for the team effort of D/Cst. King and PSD Klutch, the outcome could have been very different. 

He is a Belgian Malinois, and works alongside D/Cst. Dever. Summit was born on November 13, 2020 in Florida, and has helped our service on many calls within his first year. Despite being from Florida, his favourite pastime by far is rolling around in the snow, on the grass or even down a hill...when taking a break from working of course. 

Their most memorable call together was back in January 2023. They were dispatched to a fight call at a bar in Whitby. Upon arrival it was determined by uniform officers that the victim had suffered serious injuries as a result and that the suspect had fled the area on foot.

With the coordination of uniform officers, supervisors, and communications, a solid perimeter was set up in the area in efforts to contain the suspect. D/Cst. Dever deployed PSD Summit from the scene, and he began to track the fleeing suspect immediately. They continued to track through a residential neighborhood and crossed multiple roads and sidewalks. PSD Summit then continued to track behind an industrial building and communicated to D/Cst. Dever that they were close. Seconds later PSD Summit located the hiding suspect underneath a cube van! 

PSD Taz who works alongside D/Cst Dunlop. Taz was named after the Tasmanian Devil because as a puppy he was always full of energy and would spin around and do flips in his kennel wanting to go to work. Taz was born in Yugoslavia and his birthday is on December 20, 2016. His favourite toy is a squeaky ball, luckily for D/Cst Dunlop the squeak doesn't last long. You may have met this duo at many of our community events throughout the years, and on Taz's downtime, he loves to get belly scratches from community members. PSD Taz was also presented with his police badge by his forever friend Kelly, who Taz became friends with during her time at a children's hospital. Taz and Kelly have a lifetime bond supporting each other. 

Their most memorable call together was when PSD Taz was able to quickly locate a missing youth with special needs in a very large conservation area in Pickering. Family members and friends had been out searching for quite some time, and as daylight started to fade away the family called 911. Within a short period of time, PSD Taz located the child hiding in a pile of fallen trees. The child was quickly reunited with their parents safe and unharmed. Even with PSD Taz's numerous criminal apprehensions, it is calls like this that really hit home, and highlight the importance of the work our K9 unit does.