Police K-9 Captures Assault Suspect And Recovers Loaded Gun

This item is a press release from the Branford Police Department

Over the past several days, Branford’s Police K-9, Neecko and his handler, Officer David Atkinson, have assisted two neighboring communities with solving criminal domestic assault cases.

On Friday, September 23 at about 2:45 p.m., the team responded to Laurel Brook Road in Guilford where Guilford officers were investigating a domestic assault. After the assault, the offender escaped into a heavily wooded area and police were unable to locate him. Neecko tracked for over 1/2 mile into the woods, through a river and eventually located the offender as he was continuing to flee up a steep ledge.

Yesterday, (Sept. 29) at about 11:15 a.m., East Haven Police officers requested assistance investigating a domestic assault that involved a handgun. Although East Haven officers were able to apprehend the offender a short distance away from the incident, they were unable to find the handgun used during the assault.

After arriving on Foxon Road, Atkinson used Neecko to search for the evidence which the K-9 located after about fifteen minutes, buried under leaves in the woods.

“Neecko did a great job on both of these cases,” said Atkinson. “He has a strong drive to search for suspects and evidence and has been very successful in most searches.”

Chief Kevin Halloran praised the department’s K-9 team. “Dave and Neecko are a valued asset to our agency, the community and our policing partners,” Halloran said. “The fact of the matter is a K-9 team can complete tasks that officers usually can’t. In this case, a loaded handgun, that poses a serious risk if not found, was recovered by the team, which officers may have been unable to locate.”