K9 Rio retires from the Statesboro police department
STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - As K9 Rio retires from the Statesboro police department, his handler says Rio’s had nothing short of an exemplary career.
Rio got his retirement sendoff Tuesday after joining the department more than eight years ago.
According to handler Corporal Kyle Briley, Rio has deployed 3,146 times, assisted in 832 arrests, and conducted 100 K9 demonstrations.
He retires as one of three K9s for the department. He says they work and train more than people realize.
“I do think people would be surprised at the amount of work they do, but also the amount of work it takes to keep them ready to do that work as well,” Cpl. Kyle Briley said.
“K9 Rio, we thank you for your more than eight years of distinguished service to Statesboro Police Department. You can now take your well-deserved rest. K9 Rio is 10-42 and cleared for retirement.”
Followers of Rio and the Georgia Police K9 Foundation have already watched that “end of shift” call video 2.5 million times on TikTok.
They hope to have Rio’s successor not replacement in place on the team over the summer.
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