St. Paul PD Graduates 17 New Police Dogs

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- There's a school in St. Paul with a graduating class of 17 students with names like Rebel, Maverick and Cash.

These new graduates belong to the 2011 class at the St. Paul Police Department's K-9 training course.

The new police dogs and their human partners put on a demonstration Thursday afternoon at the ceremony.

Four of the K-9 teams are with the St. Paul Police Department, and the others will serve various other departments, including ones in Burnsville, Hastings, and the Stillwater Correctional Facility.

"It's simply using their nose, building search, tracking, narcotics, explosives detection and, in a very small function, criminal apprehension as well," explained Mark Ficcadenti of the St. Paul Police K-9 Unit. "Very useful tool in high-risk search operations, SWAT operations. They're just a good officer safety tool."

The dogs and their handlers have spent the last 12 weeks at the St. Paul K-9 facility because it's regionally certified to train police dogs.