By Pat Culverhouse –

Lt. Shawn Griffith calls the Minden Police Dept.’s K9 unit “the tip of the spear” that helps keep citizens safe, and the unit continues to put a bite on crime.

In just the past couple of days, Reef successfully sniffed out illegal narcotics which led to the arrest of a Baton Rouge man and Brams assisted the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office in an open air search which resulted in the arrest of a Castor couple on multiple charges.

Griffith said the unit is the beneficiary of hours of training with nearby agencies, plus specialized training at elite training centers. Most recently, the teams attended the ATK9 Conference at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, Butlerville, Indiana along with trainers Griffith and Off. Kendale Booker.

At the training session conducted Oct. 5-9, Minden’s unit joined 362 others from across the U.S.,  plus teams from Switzerland and Germany. Not only police K9s, but military special operations K9s were involved.

“This was amazing training we never would have received without the support of Chief (Jared) McIver. Both Booker and I not only learned a lot about our partners but about our abilities as handlers who work with these amazing dogs,” Griffith said.

Training included street and tactical deployments, obedience and deployment with muzzles and water deployments. Griffith said he wasn’t aware Brams could swim until the team performed  water deployment in a boat.

“This special training, along with weekly training with the  Caddo Sheriff Office and Shreveport PD, ensures our K9 division remains sharp as the ‘tip of the spear’ to keep the citizens of Minden safe,” Griffith said. “Thanks to the Chief for having the attitude that our citizens deserve to have a well-trained and maintained set of K9s.”

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