K9 Bak – Shaker Heights, Ohio

Died – 12/19/17
Handler – Officer Dave Emlaw

Shaker Heights K9 Officer Dies

The Shaker Heights Police Department lost a valued member of its force — Bak, the K9 officer. The department announced Bak’s passing on Facebook. The K9 was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, the department said. The dog had suffered an unexpected sickness and was diagnosed with cancer at that time. Bak became too sick to continue his policing duties and passed away Dec. 19. Bak came to Shaker Heights Police on April 12, 2012. He was paired with Officer Dave Emlaw. “Since that time, K9 Bak not only excelled as an employee and partner, but also as a valued and loved member of the Emlaw family,” the department said in its social media statement. “His drive and dedication for service included specialized work in narcotics and patrol activity, including apprehension of suspects and the recovery of discarded articles.” Bak and Emlaw also worked for the EDGE SWAT team and were loaned out to other communities when assistance was requested. The duo also worked hard to promote Shaker Heights as a community.”Bak will always be remembered as a faithful and loving companion of the Emlaw family, and a dedicated and loyal partner with the Shaker Heights Police Department. Bak’s dedicated service and spirited contribution to our role as public servants will be greatly missed,” the department said on Facebook.

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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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