Submitted to OnFocus – On Jan. 14, 2021, Wood County Sheriffs Department K9 Handler Brandon Christianson and his partner, Ace, were presented with awards for Handler of the Year and Meritorious Track with Apprehension from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Canine Handler Association.
The Handler of the Year award was the culmination of a year of dedicated service and hard work from Deputy Christianson and Ace. They deployed approximately 125 times resulting in 121 total arrests consisting of68 felony arrests and 58 misdemeanor arrests. The majority of these deployments were narcotics searches but also included building searches, tracking, and apprehensions. Deputy Christianson and K9 Ace conducted six tracks over the year, five for fleeing suspects and one for a missing person. Five of the six tracks resulted in the person being located or being taken into custody. The narcotics related searches lead to seizures of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, mushrooms, and various pills.
During the month of May alone, Deputy Christianson and K9 Ace had a total of 35 felony arrests, including 3 illegal weapons charges. The team located 76.37 grams of methamphetamine, 349.7 grams of marijuana, 6.8 grams of heroin, .4 grams of LSD, .7 grams of fentanyl, and 8.6 grams of mushrooms.
Deputy Christianson and K9 Ace were awarded the Meritorious Track with Apprehension Award for their efforts on Jan. 7, 2020. The team assisted members of the Wisconsin Rapids with a call for service involving a 72-year-old woman with dementia who was missing. The track began around 3 a.m. in 21-degree weather over grounds covered with hard packed snow. Deputy Christianson and K9 Ace conducted two tracks in these conditions and were able to locate the female and get her medical attention. The female was unable to speak and had sustained injuries from the cold weather exposure. It is highly likely that Deputy Christianson and K9 Ace saved this woman’s life!
RELATED: https://www.onfocus.news/k9-team-presented-with-tracking-award/
