Died \u2013 3\/28\/22
\nHandler \u2013 Officer Timothy O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n
Bristol police on Monday had to say goodbye to perhaps the most loyal type of partner one will have in law enforcement: a K-9. \u201cSadly,\u201d Bristol police Chief Brian Gould said Tuesday, \u201cmembers of the Bristol Police Department gathered to say goodbye to one of our police K-9s. K-9 Murphy was a valued member of the Bristol Police Department team.\u201d According to police, K-9 Murphy joined the Bristol department in October 2011, entering the Connecticut State Police K-9 Academy. The K-9 started patrolling Bristol in January 2012 with his partner, Timothy O\u2019Brien, who was an officer at that time. Police said the duo worked very well together, resulting in K-9 Murphy being credited with 270 tracks, 45 finds, the serving of 45 felony warrants and 13 apprehensions. The K-9 assisted other agencies 72 times in his career, searched 63 buildings during various investigations and related incidents, and did 20 \u201coutside area\u201d searches, police said. The animal also helped locate and recover 26 pieces of evidence. Beyond helping in investigations and other emergency response situations, K-9 Murphy and O\u2019Brien participated in numerous community events, including K-9 demos for scouts, schools and youth programs. \u201cThere was no task that they weren\u2019t willing to take on,\u201d Gould said Tuesday. \u201cK-9 Murphy enjoyed his time with the youth in our community.\u201d In 2019, K-9 Murphy retired from police work when his handler, O\u2019Brien, was promoted to sergeant. The dog spent the rest of his life with the O\u2019Brien family. Sadly, Gould said, K-9 Murphy was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy \u2013 which is a disease affecting the spinal cord. This condition results in a slow, progressive weakness and eventual paralysis of the hind limbs. \u201cWe were very fortunate to have K-9 Murphy serving our community and we will certainly miss him,\u201d Gould said. \u201cI and many others were thankful to spend some time with him (Monday) before he was laid to rest,\u201d the chief continued. \u201cI am so appreciative of the O\u2019Brien family for giving us the opportunity to say our goodbyes and thank him for his remarkable service. Now, K-9 Murphy is at peace and we celebrate his life.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died \u2013 3\/28\/22 Handler \u2013 Officer Timothy O\u2019Brien Bristol police on Monday had to say goodbye to perhaps the most loyal type of partner one will have in law enforcement: a K-9. \u201cSadly,\u201d Bristol police Chief Brian Gould said Tuesday, \u201cmembers of the Bristol Police Department gathered to say goodbye to one of our police …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-12130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ct"],"yoast_head":"\n