Darien Police Officer Amanda Hinkley and the K-9 she handles, Argo, a German shepard

Darien Police K-9 Team — Argo and Handler, Officer Hinkley — Now Certified to Catch Fleeing Suspects

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Criminals beware: Argo, one of two Darien Police Department canines, already trained and certified both to sniff out narcotics and track suspects, now has a new crime-fighting skill. Now the dog and his handler, K-9 Officer Amanda Hinkley, have been certified in “apprehension work” as well, Police Chief Ray Osborne recently told the Police Commission. “And when you say ‘apprehension work’ you mean going after the, ah —” Commission Chairman J. Paul Johnson began to ask. “That means he can tackle the bad guy,” Osborne said. Osborne explained that Argo was young when he became a police K-9 in the department (back in 2016), “so we needed to put a little bit of experience and get a little age on him before we were comfortable certifying him in apprehension work, as well.”

Meet Grizzly and Argo, Newest Members of the Darien Police Force

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Eight fast legs, four sharp eyes, four rows of teeth (when needed) and, perhaps most importantly, two acute noses — all packaged in two trained police dogs — have just joined the force, Darien Police Department has announced. Here’s the announcement:

Two new K-9 Teams have been placed into service this past month. Officer Leslie Silva, a two year veteran of the department, has been partnered with K-9 “Grizzly,” a 3-year-old chocolate lab. Officer Amanda Hinkley, also a two year veteran, has been partnered with K-9 “Argo,” a 1-year-old German Shepherd. Both teams have successfully completed extensive obedience and narcotics detection training over the past several months.