K9 Unit

The Littleton Police K9 Unit was established initially in 1963 when a three-year-old German Shepherd, "Hans" was donated to Littleton Police Department (LPD). "Hans" retired in 1966 due to his handler transferring to another agency. LPD spent several decades without a K9 unit until 2008, when LPD reintroduced a K9 unit comprised of two teams: Officer Kieffer and K9 Sabor, and Officer Geiser and K9 Kaia.

The K9s are trained to search for and detect drugs, track and apprehend suspects, and clear buildings. The K9s are used to supplement the patrol team and increase overall officer safety for all officers. Additionally, the K9 teams take part in public demonstrations and are a citizen academy favorite.

The K9s are assigned to an officer and reside with the officer and their family. The team serves together until the K9 retires, which is typically six to eight years. The K9 then gets to live with his handler as a pet. 

The Littleton Police K9 program is supported by the Friends of Littleton K9, comprised of Littleton Police Citizen Academy Alumni members. For more information, visit Friends of Littleton K9 Facebook and the Friends of Littleton K9.

Current K9 Units

Officer Choate joined Littleton Police Department in 2017 and began his K9 career as a decoy in 2018. Officer Choate was selected as K9 Handler and attended a six-week course at Gold Coast K9 in Moorepark, California where he was paired with K9 Bandit. K9 Bandit was a specially-selected puppy from the breeding program at Gold Coast and has been training to become a Police K9 since birth. K9 Bandit spent the first year of his life being trained by a Las Vegas Metro Police K9 Handler and was then returned to Gold Coast for his formal training prior to being paired with Officer Choate. K9 Bandit is half Belgian Malinois, half Dutch Shepherd. Officer Choate and K9 Bandit returned after over 240 hours of initial training to work as a dual purpose K9 team certified in narcotic detection and patrol.

Retired K9s

K9 Zan with Sargent Dimock
Service from 2017-2021

K9 Koda with Officer John Jones
Service from 2013-2019

K9 Sabor
Officer Brent Kieffer
Service from 2008-2017

K9 Kiya
Officer Jenny Geiser
Service from 2008-2010