Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Adopts Explosive Detection K-9 ‘Zander’

two-year-old Labrador Retriever

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Please join me in welcoming one of our newest members, Explosive Detection K-9 Zander, a two year old Labrador Retriever donated by SOC, LLC. SOC is a global provider of security and critical infrastructure solutions to the U.S. Government, headquartered in Virginia.

The donation could not have come at a better time as after eleven years of service, Corporal Ben Wheeler’s Explosive Detection K-9 Peanut is retiring after proudly serving and protecting the citizens of Brevard County.

Zander will be assigned to Deputy Jay Church one of the agency’s FBI Certified Bomb Technicians. Zander will be used by the Bomb Squad who responds to calls for service for both Brevard and Indian River County.

Zander is highly trained and experienced to detect explosives and chemical components that could be used to construct dangerous devices.

The Sheriff’s Office is very grateful for this very generous donation from SOC. Zander has gladly accepted this very important position and will work with our EOD Team to keep the citizens of Brevard County safe!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft. That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.

Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.

Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.

Similar Stories