Perry Police K9 Unit Department excited to have new additions join K9 team

Perry Police Department’s K9 (canine) Unit has four new recruits, two of whom are fury.

Supervisor of the unit, Sgt. Jeff Keenom said the department held an assessment and promoted two officers from patrol.

“We are excited to have Corporal Aaron Conner and Officer Leigha Chavers to our team,” Keenom said. “They both scored as the top two of the assessment we conducted which included a physical and written test, as well as an interview. Along with our two new handlers, we have two new canines. Earlier this year canine Braven and canine Lilly retired from service. They were great dogs and we will miss them. Now we have canine Kilo and canine Molly. Both are black Labrador retrievers dual certified in narcotics detection and tracking.”

Conner spent a little over 14 years in law enforcement and the last 3.5 with Perry Police Department. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in criminal justice and computer science. He is also a first generation law enforcement officer.

“It was always something that I had an interest in, and after a couple of years it really has become more of a calling for me,” Conner said. “I have worked in all aspects of law enforcement from patrol to traffic to criminal investigations division and warrant services. When the opportunity became available for the canine unit, I immediately put in for it. I’ve always liked dogs and one of my passions in law enforcement is working narcotics. The two go hand in hand so I’m excited to start this new chapter in my career.”

Chavers is in her fifth year of being in law enforcement. She graduated from Georgia Southwestern University with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice. Like Conner, she was the first in her family to pursue a law enforcement career. She started out with the Montezuma Police Department for three years and was hired with PPD in 2018.

“Honestly I kind of stumbled upon law enforcement,” Chavers said. “I became good at it and it has become a calling for me as well. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I’m FTO (field training officer) certified as well as ACT (adult crime tactic specialist), so when an opening became available on the canine unit, I had to go out for it. There are so many opportunities here at the Perry Police Department to expand one’s career and I’m excited to do just that with the canine unit.”

Conner and Chavers will start handler school this month to become certified.

To keep up with the canine unit you can follow them on Instagram at k9_perrypd_ga.