Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office welcomes new K-9

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - There is a new addition to the ranks of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. A new K-9 is ready for duty.

Law enforcement officials say the four-legged deputy will be a valuable asset.

After completing five weeks of training, K-9 Hannah now begins duty with her handler, Cpl. Derrick Riego.

“The possibilities are really endless with this dog,” said Riego.

Hannah is an 18-month-old German shorthaired pointer. What is so unique about Hannah is she’s a gun dog. The sheriff’s office says she is one of the first in the state. Her job is to sniff out guns and ammunition.

“Guns that are thrown from pursuits, guns during search warrants, ammunition, shell casings on crime scenes, things that we might not be able to find in tall grass and bad conditions, she’ll be able to locate and point at for us to be able to recover that evidence,” said Riego.

Sheriff Derrick Cunningham said Hannah is going to be a tremendous asset in the fight against violent crime in Montgomery County. He says a recent incident showed how great the need was for this type of K-9.

“She can go out and do an air search and find weapons that are in cars. She can do searches inside of facilities and schools,” Cunningham said.

The sheriff gave an example of the need for this type of dog by describing how it took deputies days to find a gun that was thrown on the side of the road by a suspect.

Cunningham said they sometimes have to think outside the box when it comes to fighting crime today.

“We had to make sure that we’re taking care of our public. So now when you go into an event, we’re going to be checking,” said Cunningham.

Hannah is also a tracking dog so she will be another tool for Project Lifesaver, a search and rescue program operated by sheriff’s office.

Riego was named the Crimestoppers 2022 Officer of the Year for his quick action to help a fellow deputy who was exposed to fentanyl during a traffic stop.

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