Police Chief: New K-9 Dog Could Be In Place Next Spring

Though funds are in place for New Canaan police to acquire a new K-9 dog—a drug prevention and enforcement tool, among other uses, that the police chief calls “critical”—the department at this point lacks adequate staffing levels for it, officials say. With two police officers on medical leave now and a third scheduled for military leave this fall, the New Canaan Police Department won’t have its own dog until next spring at the earliest, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said. “It’s critical [to have a K-9 unit],” he told NewCanaanite.com. “No doubt it’s critical. I have a fiduciary duty to the town that was are fiscally making the right decision, so although it is a critical need, we do it when the staffing levels are optimal.”

Each of New Canaan’s neighbors—police departments in Wilton, Darien, Norwalk and Stamford—has its own K-9 unit, and local police have been able to use those dogs recently as needed, though it’s no guarantee.