The Gilbert Police Department's K-9 team was awarded overall first place agency at the 2023 Arizona Law Enforcement Canine Association  Desert Dog K-9 Trials in Scottsdale.

Gilbert PD's K-9 team was one of 42 K-9 teams to participate in the two-day event.

K-9 Officer Keegan Smith and his partner K-9 Vader and K-9 Officer Jared Cooke and his partner K-9 Rico participated in all event trials, including building searches, area searches, detection, patrol, and EOD detection.

Gilbert PD's K-9 teams won the following awards:

• First place agency
•  First place team award 
• Top Dog award - Officer K. Smith and K-9 Vader
• First place Narcotics Detection - Officer K. Smith
• Third place Narcotics Detection - Officer J. Cooke

"We are proud of the Gilbert Police Department's K-9 Team's accomplishments at this weekend’s K-9 trials," K-9 Sgt. Michael Stracke said in a town release. "The K-9 team spends on average 20-30 hours per month training and perfecting their skill sets to be proficient as K-9 officers in narcotics detection, building and/or area searches, and high-risk tactical operations. Officer Cooke and Officer Smith are extremely focused, committed to excellence, and highly driven officers both in their personal and professional lives."

The Gilbert Police Department K-9 unit has  sponsors that  allow its K-9 officers to compete in the ALECA Desert Dog K-9 trials:

• Advanced Medical Wellness sponsors Smith and K-9 Vader as well as Officer J. Cooke and K-9 Rico. 
• Blair and Patty Murphy donated a K-9 Storm ballistic vest to K-9 Vader and state of the art electronic collars for K-9 Vader and K-9 Rico. 
• Riot Hospitality Group donated a K-9 Storm ballistic vest to K-9 Rico. 
•  K-9 Defense provided the training available to the Gilbert Police Department.

Residents can visit the  Gilbert PD K-9 webpage to learn more about the team's history.