BRISTOL POLICE DEPARTMENT

Early History of the K-9 Program

Circa 1973

With the foresight and planning of Police Chief William Mead and the Bristol Board of Police Commission, a K-9 Division was authorized during the 1973-1974 fiscal year.

Sal Cretella was selected as the first official trainer for the police department. At the time, he was Bristol’s Animal Control Officer and he came with plenty of experience. He had extensive prior military training in the use of patrol dogs.

The first Bristol Police dog handlers were officers David R. McGivney and Ronald McGivney.

Officer David McGivney handled two dogs. The first dog was “Sands” and he was a pure white German shepherd who had an excellent record for tracking. During his time with the police department, he was credited with 15-felony arrest.

The second dog was named “Zor.” Zor was donated to the police department as a puppy by the non-profit organization Fidelco. David raised the puppy for about a year. As Zor grew older, he was trained as a patrol dog. He began to work officially with the police department when he was just over a year old.

Ronald handled “Shadow” and he was a German shepherd. After Ronald was promoted to the rank of detective, the dog was given to David.

On July 28, 1975 a radio call reporting a 10-0 (OFFICER IN TROUBLE) was broadcast for a small strip mall on Lake Avenue. All officers responded to the call including Zor and Officer David McGivney. An unruly crowd had gathered and an officer was in trouble.

Officer McGivney arrived, exited his cruiser and was immediately surrounded by the unruly crowd. Zor remained in the back seat of the cruiser but sensed his handler was in trouble. Zor’s training paid off and he immediately jumped from the cruiser and came to the aid of the officer.

Zor began to circle around Officer McGivney and kept the crowd away from the officer.

At one point, a female charged the officer and attempted to physically strike him. Zor’s instincts and training kicked in and grabbed the female by her arm. Zor prevented an assault on the officer.

The rest of the crowd took quick notice and everybody backed away and dispersed. No one was ready to take on Zor. The female was placed under arrest and booked at police headquarters. On this day, no one was injured.

Zor showed that patrol dogs have a value everyday in policing. During this particular situation, many officers would have been needed to bring the crowd under control. The potential for a critical situation was avoided.

The patrol dog is an invaluable tool for police officers on patrol.

Story contributed by D. McGivney