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The five teams completed a 14-week training course for certification in explosives and drug detection, Port Authority Spokeswoman Lenis Valens said following the Dec. 16 ceremony.
Two Morris County sheriff’s officers also studied to become a K9 trainer and handler, respectively, she said.
The four German Shepherds and one Belgium Malinois – ranging from 1 to 2 years old – will protect the people of New York, New Jersey and the millions of other travelers who use the various Port Authority facilities daily, Valen said.
Named for five heroes are:
- Mag, a 2-year-old German Shepard mix named after Police Officer David LeMagne, who died while a part of a human chain evacuating the North Tower, with PAPD Officer Kevin Gallagher;
- Bruce, 1, another Shepard mix named after Police Officer Bruce Reynolds, who died during South Tower rescue efforts, with PAPD Officer Sean Lynch;
- Mimmo, another 1-year-old Shepard mix named after Police Officer Dominick Pezzulo, who was killed after freeing two colleagues from fallen debris, with PAPD Officer Gary Zintl;
- Stuey, a 2-year-old Shepard named after Police Officer Walwyn Stuart, who was killed during rescue efforts in the North Tower, with PAPD Officer Kirk Kouzis;
- Amo, 2, named after Police Officer Christopher Amoroso, who died while leading people to safety from the lower levels of the North Tower, with PAPD Officer John Adams.
Among those attending Friday’s ceremony at Hangar 54 were PAPD Supt. Edward Cetnar; Amoroso’s wife, Jamie; Pezzulo’s nephew, Vincent DiNone, and his wife, Michelle; and PAPD recruit Anthony Cortazzo.
The families of the fallen officers received commemorative plaques for their loved ones’ sacrifices.
Cortazzo also presented Officer Lynch and Bruce the “John Cortazzo Top Dog Award,” which was renamed this year for his dad, PAPD Officer John Cortazzo, a 12-year veteran of the K9 unit who died in March 2009 from a 9/11-related illness.
Created in 1984, the Port Authority Police K9 unit began training detection canines following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Since the start of its instructional program, 128 teams have been trained in either explosive or drug detection.
The narcotic detection canine teams are “certified and highly trained canines who respond in a timely matter to Port Authority police operations to reduce the transportation of drugs in the metropolitan area,” Valens said.
“The highly trained explosive detection canine teams function as a deterrent to terrorism directed towards transportation systems and work collaboratively with federal, state, and local partners,” she added.
The dogs who graduated Friday have been taught to detect more than a dozen different odors, Valens said.
The teams worked on “basic obedience, leash handling and agility skills,” as the dogs learned to “offer different cues to their handler when they detect explosives, such as laying down flat, sitting down or raising a paw.”
Their partners, meanwhile, are trained to notice any change in a K9s behavior “when they come across a potential explosive device or material.”
ALSO SEE: "It's time to go," a suicidal man perched on the outer railing of the George Washington Bridge told Port Authority Police Officer Stephen Gryboski. READ MORE HERE....
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