FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kate Reilly, Deputy Chief of Staff

978-620-3013/ kreilly@cityoflawrence.com

Mayor/LPD Welcome first K-9 in a Decade

K-9 Magnus July 11, 2019, Lawrence, MA- Mayor Daniel Rivera, with Lawrence Police Chief Roy P. Vasque and the Lawrence Police Department would like to congratulate and welcome the newest member of the Lawrence Police Department, K-9 Magnus. K-9 Magnus is a 13-month-old Belgian Malinois born in the Czech Republic and transported to the United States to be trained to fulfill his mission as a Lawrence Police Department K-9. The K-9 program was re-started through a Stanton Foundation grant the city received for $25,000. The Stanton Foundation, created by Dr. Frank Stanton, covers the start-up costs associated with acquiring and training dogs in order to establish K9 units in departments without one. “We are excited to welcome K-9 Magnus to our police force,” said Mayor Dan Rivera. “We are working hard every day to improve our police force and make it a 21st century force by adding new technology, policing smarter and diversifying our police force. K-9 Magnus will add another level of enforcement that our community has not seen in over a decade.”

On Friday, June 28, 2019, K-9 Magnus and his handler, Officer Carlos Aguirre, graduated an intensive 14-week Police Canine Handler Course conducted by the Boston Police K-9 Academy. Officer Aguirre graduated from Lawrence High School, Class of 2001, and joined the Lawrence Police Department in 2017. During their training, Officer Aguirre and K-9 Magnus learned several techniques and strategies to be utilized in the patrol field. Upon completion of the 500-hour course, the pair successfully received certifications in: obedience, building searches, evidence recovery, area searches, agility, criminal apprehension, handler protection and tracking. The Lawrence Police Dept. anticipates returning the pair to further training and certification in the field of narcotics investigations. Officer Aguirre and K-9 Magnus are eager to serve the residents of Lawrence and to contribute toward Mayor Dan Rivera and Chief Vasque’s comprehensive and proactive anti-crime initiatives.

“I would like to thank Boston Police Trainer Troy Casey and the training staff at the Boston Police D-9 Academy for their hard work and dedication over the past 14-weeks in training our new crime fighting duo,” said Chief Roy Vasque. “We look forward to continuing this strong relationship with this professional group as we work on the addition of a second K-9 team in the near future.”

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