OCPD MOURNS THE LOSS OF RETIRED K9

K9 TACKO, Retired
Ocean City Police Department

(January 9, 2014) – The Ocean City Police Department is mourning the loss of veteran police K9, Tacko, who passed away on December 2, 2013. Tacko, originally from the Czech Republic, joined the police department in early 2005 after attending ten weeks of basic police K9 training with his partner, Pfc. Kevin Flower. He retired in November of 2012.

Tacko was certified eight times by the North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA) and the National Law Enforcement Canine Organization (NLECO). During his distinguished police career with the OCPD, Tacko had over 1500 deployments, which include building and vehicle searches, searches for suspects as well as open field searches for evidence resulting in the detection and recovery of illegal contraband and the arrests of hundreds of suspects.  In addition, Tacko has assisted other Maryland law enforcement agencies, the US Air Force and US Customs Service with drug interdiction and detection.

In a press release announcing Tacko’s retirement, Pfc. Flower said, “I really believe he put a smile on everyone’s face that he encountered. Tacko attended numerous shift roll-calls and greeted every officer he could.”.

The Ocean City Fraternal Order of Police and the Ocean City Police Department recently presented Pfc. Flower with a commemorative urn and recognized Tacko’s accomplishments at the 2013 Neighborhood Watch Officer of the Year Banquet on January 7, 2014. “He worked so hard for so many officers,” Flower continued. “He was the best partner an officer could ever hope to have and he will be truly missed.”

Submitted:
Ocean City Police Dept.