K-9 Koda Now An Active Member of BCSO Team
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // September 28, 2014
6 WEEKS OLD WHEN he JOINED THE AGENCY
ABOVE VIDEO:Sheriff Wayne Ivey introduces “Koda,” the name chosen for the 9-week old Bloodhound pup, and newest member of the Brevard County Sheriff Department K-9 Unit.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — I thought it would be fun to share with our community a quick update on K-9 Koda who was originally sworn-in with our agency in June of 2013 as a new member of our Corrections K-9 Team.
Koda was six weeks old when he joined the department and gained instant notoriety after being named by our citizens during a “name that puppy” contest on our agency FaceBook page.
Koda which is Native-American for “Friend” is now an active member of our Corrections K-9 Team and is progressing very well with his training to search for missing children, missing seniors and fugitives.
Koda is doing great and recently attended the 8th Annual Scent Tracking Seminar at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy in Quincy, Florida along with Corrections Deputy Patrick Arquette, Corrections Corporal Jason Lewis, Corrections Deputy Christopher Spencer, Corrections Deputy Fred Mendiola, Sergeant Steve Feaster, and K-9 Cletus. As part of the week long seminar, the members of our team and K-9s Koda and Cletus were also able to attend Florida’s Missing Children’s Day in remembrance of missing children in the State of Florida. The first ever Florida’s Missing Children’s Day was held in 1999 and is held annually in Tallahassee Florida at the capitol building.
Guest speakers usually include the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and FDLE Commissioner.
The Scent tracking seminar held at the Pat Thomas Training Academy is in conjunction with the Jimmy Rice Foundation who also played a major part in the establishment of Florida’s Missing Children’s Day.
Sergeant Feaster and Corrections Deputy Mendiola participated as instructors at the 8th Annual Scent Tracking Seminar while Corrections Deputy Arquette was invited to the Capitol as a nominee for Tracking Trailing Handler of the Year for numerous incredible recoveries that he and his K-9 partenr participated in.
I could not be more proud of our Corrections K-9 Team and the many amazing things that they do for our community and citizens. This team works tirelessly to save lives while representing our agency with incredible professionalism.
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.
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.
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.
