The Lynnwood Police K9 unit joins an elite pack of police dogs certified in fentanyl detection by the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) in Marysville to help combat the ongoing opioid crisis.
“A big congrats to K9 Chase, Rico, and Cannon and their handlers who worked hard to achieve this certification,” The Lynnwood Police announced on X on October 4.
The three Lynnwood K9 cops are also trained in detecting meth, heroin, and cocaine.
On September 15, six K9 teams with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (2), Bellingham (1), and Marysville (2), and Anacortes (1) police departments were the first to be trained and certified in fentanyl detection within Washington state. All were certified at the CJTC in Marysville.
In June of this year, House Bill 1635 passed the legislature which required the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) to develop model standards for training police dogs to detect fentanyl by July 1, 2025. The bill was introduced by Representatives Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale and co-sponsored by Carolyn Eslick, R-Sultan, and Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen. It allocates $150,000 for the CJTC to create the program.
Also, the bill states that a law enforcement agency, or any state or local government employee (or agency) is immune from civil damages arising from the use of a properly trained canine to detect fentanyl.
When the bill was first introduced in 2023, no local law enforcement dogs were trained nor certified through the state of Washington’s Criminal Justice Training Commission to find fentanyl.
In May of 2023, Drug Task Force K-9 Sully almost died from possible exposure to fentanyl during a warrant search of an Everett residence. After three doses of Narcan, K-9 Sully regained consciousness. A large amount of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl were seized from the Everett apartment.
Author: Mario Lotmore
