NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Following the line of duty death of Officer Katie Thyne on January 23, the American K-9 Interdiction, LLC (AK9I) donated a dog to the Newport News Police K-9 Unit in honor of Officer Thyne.
The canine, a 10-month-old black lab, will undergo training and will then join the department and serve as a Narcotics Detection K-9, according to police officials.
The dog will be named Fenway in honor of Officer Thyne being a huge Boston Redsox fan.
NNPD ACCEPTS K-9 DONATED IN OFFICER THYNE’S MEMORY https://t.co/EmYJD8jYSF
— Newport News Police (@NewportNewsPD) April 7, 2020
Recently, the Newport News Police K-9 Unit held tryouts for two open K-9 positions. Out of the ten people who tried out, it was announced that Master Police Officer Brittany Lewis earned one of the two open positions.
MPO Lewis and K-9 Fenway will begin their training soon and updates will be provided on the Newport News Police K-9 Unit Facebook page.
“We are very thankful to American K-9 Interdiction, LLC for wanting to honor Officer Thyne’s service and sacrifice by donating K-9 Fenway to the Newport News Police K-9 Unit. We are excited to see MPO Lewis and her new partner, K-9 Fenway serve the citizens of Newport News,” stated Chief Steve Drew.
