‘Every handler’s worst fear:’ Former K9 officer details bond between dogs, handlers

The Toronto police community continues to mourn the death of Bingo, a two-year-old German Shepard that was shot and killed in the line of duty while tracking down a murder suspect.

A retired Toronto Police sergeant who spent over half his 36-year career in the K9 unit is sharing more about these animals’ strong connection with their handlers and their contribution to public safety.

Sgt. Jim Adamson had several K9 partners and said what happened to Bingo is every handler’s worst nightmare.

“It’s unconditional love that your dog will do anything for you. And they do it because they want to please you. It’s a powerful, powerful bond. Every handler lives with that every day and always has it in the back of their mind,” said Sgt. Adamson.

The dog is united with the trainer from the beginning of their training, explains Sgt. Adamson. “You form a bond, and that starts with the training, and the training goes on for weeks. After completing it, you go out as a new K9 team.”

The former police sergeant said the dog would live with the officer and their family and often become pets when they retire from the police service.

“You [take] them as a family pet. The dog was with you when they were working. The dog was with you when you were at home. The dog was familiar with your family.”

RELATED: Toronto police procession honours fallen K9 Bingo, killed in the line of duty

Sgt. Adamson shared that dogs trained in Toronto are also trained to have social skills.

“In one day, you could be out seeing a Boy Scout group and let them have a pet-the-puppy sort of session. Within the hour, you could be tracking bank robbery suspects, and the dogs are selected specifically to have that socialization if you will, that they can cover that wide gambit in a city like Toronto,” said Sgt. Adamson.

He said the fact that Bingo was the first dog the Toronto Police Service have lost, while tragic, is very fortunate. The K9 Unit was first formed in Toronto back in 1989.

Two-year-old K9 Bingo was fatally shot in Etobicoke on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

“It’s a testament to the good training that goes on between the officers and in the K9s prior to them going out on the street. The officers have done a terrific job and deserve the recognition for the number of hours they are currently putting in and will continue to put in.”

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw stressed the importance of the K9s in their ability to deliver community safety during a press conference on Wednesday.

“They provide an additional resource to our members to help keep communities safe, whether it’s tracking assessment, apprehending, violent suspect, tracking for evidence, locating evidence, sometimes that evidence is incredibly dangerous and needs to be located to not cause further harm in our communities,” said Demkiw.

RELATED: Toronto police dog killed, suspect injured in ‘officer-involved’ shooting

Over the decades, these four-legged crime fighters have made endless contributions to public safety. In Bingo’s case, he was killed by an armed suspect while police were executing an arrest.

A witness told CityNews that police spent almost an hour on Tuesday night searching an Etobicoke neighbourhood for the murder suspect who allegedly shot at them before running off through backyards. Bingo found the man and died a hero.

“That helped make the streets of Toronto safer by removing that suspect, and the dog did a magnificent job and did what he was trained to do,” said Sgt. Adamson.

It’s just one of the ways K9s are utilized.

“You can get to a call that the suspect has fled an area, and the police have it contained to the best of their ability they can but can’t find that person. The dog can. Or in a building, the dog can find that scent,” explained Sgt. Adamson.

“We have in Toronto narcotic detection dogs, narcotics give off another sent, explosive detection dogs, different types of explosives … Also, in the event of an emergency search and rescue dogs, the dogs are passive and can find people and let us know where they are so the searchers can focus on that area, tremendous assets to bring to the table.”

Sgt. Adamson said these dogs are saving lives and continue to.

“They’re making it safer for the officers as well.”