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Phoenix, who was assigned to the Explosives Detection team of the PAPD K-9 Unit in 2007, worked with his partner, Officer Donald Golding, to search thousands of unattended bags, packages and parcels to help safeguard the area’s airports, seaports, terminals and PATH system for the traveling public.
He was also involved in the Port Authority’s community outreach, through which children got to meet and play with him.
“Phoenix never wavered in his dedication to duty,” the authority’s Joseph Pentangelo said. “He was a goodwill ambassador and a crime fighter and he will be missed.”
One of the largest specialized teams of its kind in the county, the PAPD K-9 Unit is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It consists of dozens of police officers and three police sergeant handler teams divided into two areas: explosives and drug detection.
The Port Authority Police K-9 Unit was created in 1984 as a patrol dog program. The original unit consisted of nine teams assigned primarily to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and PATH facilities.
The Explosive Detection Team was added in 1996, along with the first Narcotics Detection Team, in response to the crash of TWA Flight 800 in Long Island. Each unit is assigned to the Police Department’s Special Operation Division.
Besides safeguarding facilities, the team has also trained more than 40 outside agencies.
It has responsibility for:
- Presidential, dignitary and papal visits;
- The United Nations General Assembly;
- Drug Enforcement Agency task force operations;
- K-9 sweeps during the execution of state and federal search warrants;
- K-9 sweeps of all Port Authority facilities during periods of high terror threats.
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