All six of the Springfield Police Department’s canine teams qualified for the U.S. Police Canine Association national competition during a recent certification trial.
The teams and results:
Officer Jeff Coker and Kilo: first place novice, third place agility.
Officer Steve Termine and Axel: second place apprehension with gunfire, first place evidence search, second place agility.
Officer Ryan Machin and Arko: second place apprehension with gunfire.
Officer Ron Howard and Jax: first place apprehension with gunfire.
Officer Jeff Leininger and Tango: second place obedience, third place evidence search, first place suspect search.
Howard, Termine and Leininger and their dogs earned first place as a team.
Twenty teams from Illinois and Missouri participated in the trial June 25 and 26.
