The Marshalltown Police Department is excited to announce the selection of Officer Nick Svoboda as the next K9 Handler for our department. Officer Svoboda has served the City of Marshalltown for nearly four years. He is currently assigned to day shift patrol. He holds secondary assignments as a department Field Training Officer and SWAT Team member. His experience, positive attitude, and great work ethic make him the perfect addition to the MPD K9 Unit.
Officer Svoboda will be attending Basic K9 School in Buffalo, MN starting on August 16th. The training will be completed by Performance Kennels Inc. The company is the same vender that supplied dogs to previous MPD K9 handlers. The Basic K9 School is scheduled for 10 weeks, and will provide training to the K9 team in the areas of obedience, evidence search, building search, tracking, and criminal apprehension. Additionally, the K9 team will receive training on basic narcotics detection. Upon completion of the training, the K9 team will be certified in patrol work and narcotics detection.
On July 5th, Officer Svoboda picked up his new partner, K9 Atlas. K9 Atlas is a 13-month-old German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois cross. K9 Atlas was imported to the United States from Slovakia and comes from a long line of working dogs. Officer Svoboda and K9 Atlas will spend the next several weeks getting acquainted and bonding before training begins. Please join me in welcoming Officer Svoboda and K9 Atlas to the MPD K9 Unit.
AUTHORITY: Lt. Kiel Stevenson (kstevenson@marshalltown-ia.gov or 641.754.5725)