K9 Bosco – Grand Rapids, Michigan

Died 7/20/23
Handler – Officer Kenneth Nawrocki

GRPD announce passing of K9 officer

The Grand Rapids Police Department announced today in a Facebook post that K9 Officer Bosco passed away. Bosco was an active-duty K9 with the department, they said they do not have all the answers yet but it seems he had a health issue that had gone undetected during his routine veterinary care. Bosco was 6 years old when he passed, he joined GRPD in 2018. He was partnered with Officer Kenneth Nawrocki. GRPD said Bosco was a “dual purpose dog” as he was trained in both patrol operations and explosive detection. He earned his certifications through the International Police Work Dog Association. In his years of service, Bosco had 70 arrests and completed 70 sweeps for explosives.The GRPD says they are in mourning for the loss of Bosco, along with Officer Nawrocki and his family.

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.