MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — A new officer has been cleared to join the McFarland Police Department but he's not a human. He's a three year old Dutch Malinois named Khan ready to protect his community.
- Officer Khan is able to to accomplish what most people can’t do, making him perfect for the job.
- Born on May 1, 2021 in the Netherlands and originally trained as a a sports dog, he underwent six weeks of intensive training in apprehension, searching, and obedience.
The McFarland Police Department has been serving and protecting the community since 2010 and in that time, they've had a handful of furry officers join the team. Three-year-old Officer Khan now making the list.
Officer Khan was born in the Netherlands before making the journey to McFarland where he underwent 6 weeks of intensive training to learn how to serve and protect.
During that time, Officer Khan was taught how to apprehend suspects, obedience skills, and even search for missing persons.
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His handler, Officer Weiss says Khan's personality makes him that much more perfect for the job.
"Khan has a personality I like to call him a little clown, his favorite thing to do is run and dive bomb onto his back and on the grass and roll around on his back — he's a very friendly working dog,” said Officer Weiss.
As friendly as Khan may be, don't be mistaken when he's on duty … if needed he can pack a big bite.
Officer Weiss says Khan is a huge asset to the department as his quick reflexes can assist the department in some tricky situations more efficiently than a human officer could.
"Searching big businesses, typically it would take a lot of officers to clear that business,” said Officer Weiss. “It can take anywhere up to 30 to 45 minutes to check that business, using a police dog is going to take less than 5 minutes."
Officer Weiss says Khan is very loyal to him and has no doubt that Khan will be a great asset to the department.
"Not only is he here to protect me and my partners but he's here to help protect the community and that's one of the things I like to tell the little kids."
Officer Khan will soon be heading to another 6-week course to get him certified for drug detection but for now, he's sticking to the patrolling.
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