K9 Rico – Florence, South Carolina

Died 2/4/24
Handler – Cpl. Brooks Urquhart

Florence County sheriff’s K-9 deputy Rico dies at 12

Rico, a patrol dog with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, has died at the age of 12. Rico and his partner, Cpl. Brooks Urquhart, were twice the recipients of the American Police Canine Association President’s K9 Team Award (2017 and 2018). The sheriff’s office announced the death on Wednesday.“Not only was Rico an amazing partner, but he was an invaluable asset in our arsenal to combat criminals and fugitives from justice,” Urquhart said. He partnered with Rico for 11 years.”A Dutch shepherd, Rico served on patrol, Street Crimes Unit, FCSO SWAT and assisted the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. During his years of service, Rico was responsible for 10 physical apprehensions and 15 nonbite apprehensions, 14 article finds (guns and other evidence), $250,000.00 in seized currency and the detection of countless amounts of drugs, guns and fugitives,” Maj. Mike Nunn wrote in a media advisory.The sheriff’s office currently has 13 canines which are specially trained in apprehension, narcotics, explosive and accelerant detection and human tracking.

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Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.
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