Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw Administers Oath to K-9 Officer Zeke
Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw Administers Oath to K-9 Officer Chase
(Walhalla, SC)———–At the meeting of the Oconee County (SC) Sheriff’s Foundation last week, Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw administered the oath to the two newest K-9 officers.
K-9 Officer Zeke and K-9 Officer Chase were joined by their handlers, Deputy P.J. Heaton and Corporal Chris Johnson respectively. Zeke and Chase join the three other K-9 officers, Farrah, Argo and Thor. Previously, K-9 Officer Zeke was with the Clemson Police Department while K-9 Officer Chase comes from the Mount Pleasant Police Department.
K-9 Officer Chase is a black Labrador and is 18 months old. K-9 officer Zeke is 4 years old and is also a black Labrador. Corporal Johnson and Deputy Heaton are assigned to the Uniform Patrol Bureau.
Chase and Zeke’s primary duties will be in the detection of narcotics. The deputies who are assigned K-9’s are responsible for their partners, who live with them and their families.
In 2021, the K-9 officers and their handlers completed 853 hours of training, which was in addition to the annual law enforcement training hours required by all deputies. The K-9 officers with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office conducted 31 searches in 2021.
While K-9 officer Chase was donated by the Mount Pleasant Police Department, K-9 officer Zeke was purchased by the Sheriff’s Foundation for $5,500.00 in September of last year, with his recertification completed in early March of this year.
“The addition of the newest K-9 officers was done without any taxpayer money, except for training and expenses related to their training,” said Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw.“K-9 officers Chase and Zeke will work with their handlers, along with our other K-9’s and their handlers, in order to continue our work to detect illegal narcotics and explosives in Oconee County.”