K9 Axel – Rhode Island State Police

Handler: Detective Lieutenant Matthew Moynihan
Rhode Island State Police

K-9 Axel of RI State Police dies

K-9 Axel, a former partner to Detective Lieutenant Matthew Moynihan of the RI State Police, passes away.
The Rhode Island State Police are mourning the loss of K-9 Axel, a former partner to Detective Lt. Matthew Moynihan. K-9 Axel, who was 14 years old, began his service with the state police in 2002 and retired in 2010. He was trained in patrol apprehension and narcotics detection, and was assigned to both the Patrol and Detective Bureaus. In addition to his service to the Rhode Island State Police, K-9 Axel was frequently called upon by municipal police departments to track suspects and/or detect narcotics. After three years, he suffered an injury, which required the surgical removal of a portion of his hip bone to alleviate discomfort. He quickly returned to service, and was assigned to the Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force within the Detective Bureau of the state police. During his time there, K-9 Axel had many noteworthy felony apprehensions and was instrumental in the detection of hundreds of pounds of illicit narcotics and United States currency derived from the illegal proceeds of narcotic trafficking. He contributed to numerous narcotic seizures shipped through the United States Postal Service as well as other global courier services. In 2009, K-9 Axel detected the odor of narcotics coming from within the inside of a tractor trailer from Laredo, Texas. As a result, 1,500 pounds of marijuana was located and seized. The estimated street value at the time of the seizure was approximately $2 million. This remains the largest single seizure of marijuana seized in the history of the state police. K-9 Axel also frequently visited elementary schools within the state of Rhode Island and entertained children with his detection abilities. Upon his retirement, K-9 Axel lived with his assigned handler, Moynihan, along with Moynihan’s family.

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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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