Kent Police this week announced that – after 7 years – K9 Krieger is retiring, and K9 Officer Kallir has been promoted to Sergeant.
Here’s more from Kent Police:
K9 Krieger and his human, K9 Sergeant Kallir, hit the Kent streets as a team about 7 years ago, following 400 hours of Police K9 training. This was Sergeant Kallir’s second team, so he has been serving the Kent Community as a K9 handler for almost 10 years.
As a team Krieger and Kallir located and took into custody dozens of dangerous suspects in and around our community. The team was promoted to Sergeant in November of 2022, making K9 Krieger our first ever 4-legged sergeant. Today was K9 Krieger’s last day, and tomorrow Sergeant Kallir goes solo without him.
We asked Krieger to share with us a few of his proudest moments, what he will miss most and least after retirement, and any advice he has for our newest K9 teams that are replacing him.
Krieger captured many suspects, but one of the most notable ones for him was when he located a home-invasion robbery suspect on the West Hill after a track that lasted an hour and a half. Long tracks are exhausting, and require a great deal of concentration, and physical stamina. Krieger said he was determined to find the guy that hurt those people and he just refused to give up. He was also especially proud to have located and captured the suspect who hurt a Renton Officer.
The thing he will miss the most will be riding around with his dad, (Sergeant Kallir) in the car. He is planning to ask for special rides on the weekends to get pup cups so that they can have their time together. He said what he will miss least is guys like the suspect who pushed his head under the water when he wasn’t happy about being arrested. Although he was not injured, he said that it was a jerky thing to do, and he is happy that won’t happen again. If I’m in the water, I want to play in my shallow pool in my backyard from now on.
Krieger also added that some of his best moments were the presentations he was able to do in the community. He liked telling them about K9 work and really enjoyed all the attention and interesting questions.
Lastly, his advice for the new K9 teams taking the street was to work hard, play hard and remember to love on your human. They need you when the shifts are ruff.
Retirement Plans:
Krieger told us that he plans to be thoroughly spoiled in his retirement, get as many Dutch pup cups as he can convince his family to buy, and is looking forward to having more time to play with his sister dog Lola. Although he will miss riding around with his dad in the car, a lazy afternoon in the sun on the porch, chewing on his favorite toy is something he is really looking forward to.
Krieger’s thoughts about his dad:
“As far as human partners go, I can’t bark enough great things about Officer Kallir. He works hard, is patient and kind, and always seems to know how to encourage me to be the best I can be. I learned by watching him on patrol how to be a pro-active, tough on crime, but compassionate Officer. He is a great squad-mate, which is sort like a littermate but more important. He is always trying to help our fellow Officers, never shies away from a difficult job, and overall is just a great human. I’m glad he was promoted to Sergeant this year because he will be excellent in handling crises and guiding the newer pups”.
Officer Kallir had this to say about Krieger:
“Krieger is a very vocal German Shephard, who has always had the energy of a young pup. Most everyone on City campus has heard his vocal musings from inside our patrol car, but that was mostly him being eager and happy to be at work. Although he is a big boy, he is loving and kind, and is the best partner I could have asked for. He forced me to be a better human partner and I am thankful for my time with him. His one vice was that he just hated traffic cones, I never figured out why.”
K9 Krieger and Sergeant Kallir-Thank you for all the dedicated work you did in the rain, the mud, the snow, and the heat to locate and capture persons who have endangered our Kent Community. You protected our City, your fellow Officers and selflessly put yourselves in harms way too may times to count, on behalf of others. We do not have enough words to say how much we appreciate you both.
“Happy retirement Krieger and Congratulations Sergeant Kallir. You have both earned it.”
Below are photos of Krieger, courtesy Kent PD:
