GVSU police introduce new bomb-sniffing K-9

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Grand Valley Police Department has introduced its latest addition, K-9 Scout.

Grand Valley State University officials say Scout joined the department in June after spending four weeks training with his new handler, Officer Paul Weaver, at a northern Michigan facility. Both Weaver and Scout are certified for explosives detection and rescue operations.

Scout, a 2-year-old labrador retriever , will fill the role held by former K-9 Koda, serving on safety operations during major university events and critical incidents and as a softer way to connect with the GVSU community.

“We are community police officers, so we are working with our housing department, and we will work with students on campus as well as faculty and staff in addition to our purposes in explosives,” Weaver said.

GVPD chief Brandon DeHaan said adding a new K-9 is another step in the department’s commitment to campus safety.

“We work very hard to create a variety of different safety solutions for our community,” DeHaan said. “Part of those solutions are not only full-time law enforcement officers working on campus, but we also have a full-time dispatch. Scout is also a part of that — another asset in our safety portfolio.”

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