The Seattle Police Department has a new, highly-trained recruit ready to dive nose-first into potentially dangerous situations, thanks to Boeing and the Seattle Police Foundation. 
On Tuesday afternoon, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz presented the Arson/Bomb Squad’s (ABS) newest four-legged member, Boomer, with his badge at police headquarters.
Thanks to a donation from a Seattle Police Foundation board member, SPD was able to recruit Boomer from an animal shelter and send him to Boeing’s rigorous 440 hour — about 3 months in dog years — K-9 explosive detection training program.
Until now, SPD has only had one trained explosive detection dog. Now, ABS has an explosive sniffing dog available around the clock to help perform safety sweeps at concerts, sporting events, and during presidential visits, and also assist detectives in doggedly combing through crime scenes.
“One of the big things the arson/bomb dogs do is go to crime scenes and help the detectives locate evidence,” says Lieutenant Greg Sackman. “We’ll bring the dogs in, and they’ll find shell casings or guns that are hidden.”
Boomer did not offer up any comment after receiving his badge Tuesday. However, ABS Lieutenant Sackman says, “He looked very happy.”
