TPD Introduces New K9 Officer Thanks To ATF Partnership

Thanks to a national partnership, there's a new K9 officer at the Tulsa Police Department.

K9 officer Mimi is trained to sniff key evidence like gun residue and explosives. 

"She's our new explosive detection K9, she's assigned to our crime gun unit," said Lieutenant Sean Larkin. 

Mimi is a one-and-a-half-year-old yellow lab. Lieutenant Sean Larkin said she's trained to sniff out evidence at crime scenes, like shell casings and gun residue. She spent 16 weeks training in Virginia with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"It's allowed her to do a few things that other dogs can't, including finding firearms which is a big deal for us in the crime gun unit."

Mimi is one of around 120 explosive detection canines in the country. She's now in Tulsa working with her handler, Officer Chad Murtaugh. 

She's food trained, meaning she gets fed through her training, so even on their off days, Murtaugh and Mimi are always working on something. 

"If there's a training issue that we come upon, we work through that training issue, and they are successful in it, so it builds their confidence and makes them better," Murtaugh said.

Larkin said she's already proven to be an asset to the team and would love the opportunity for more dogs like Mimi in the future. 

"I imagine with the amount of work, the productivity we are already seeing from her that if our agency or any other agency in the state can come across a dog like this, they'd be silly not to jump on it," Larkin said. 

Larkin said Mimi is the only explosive detection K9 in Oklahoma.