K9 Unit

The Littleton Police K9 Unit was established initially in 1963 when a three-year-old German Shepherd, "Hans" was donated to Littleton Police Department (LPD). "Hans" retired in 1966 due to his handler transferring to another agency. LPD spent several decades without a K9 unit until 2008, when LPD reintroduced a K9 unit comprised of two teams: Officer Kieffer and K9 Sabor, and Officer Geiser and K9 Kaia.

The K9s are trained to search for and detect drugs, track and apprehend suspects, and clear buildings. The K9s are used to supplement the patrol team and increase overall officer safety for all officers. Additionally, the K9 teams take part in public demonstrations and are a citizen academy favorite.

The K9s are assigned to an officer and reside with the officer and their family. The team serves together until the K9 retires, which is typically six to eight years. The K9 then gets to live with the handler as a pet. 

The Littleton Police K9 program is supported by the Friends of Littleton K9, comprised of Littleton Police Citizen Academy Alumni members. For more information, visit Friends of Littleton K9 Facebook and the Friends of Littleton K9.

Current K9 Units

K9 Bandit with Officer Parker Choate

Officer Choate joined the LPD in 2017 and began his K9 career as a decoy in 2018. Officer Choate was selected as K9 Handler and attended a six-week course at Gold Coast K9 in Moorepark, California where he was paired with K9 Bandit. K9 Bandit was a specially-selected puppy from the breeding program at Gold Coast and has been training to become a Police K9 since birth. K9 Bandit spent the first year of his life being trained by a Las Vegas Metro Police K9 Handler and was then returned to Gold Coast for his formal training prior to being paired with Officer Choate. K9 Bandit is half Belgian Malinois, half Dutch Shepherd. Officer Choate and K9 Bandit returned after over 240 hours of initial training to work as a dual purpose K9 team certified in narcotic detection and patrol.

K9 Rudder with Officer Rick Redmond

K9 Rudder joined the Littleton Police Department (LPD) in spring of 2023 and spent the summer in field training with his handler, School Resource Officer (SRO) Rick Redmond. Rudder was initially in training with Guide Dogs of the Desert to be a seeing-eye dog. However, his trainers soon realized that he was just too social and too friendly, so his training was transitioned, and he is now a therapy dog.  

K9 Rudder works alongside Officer Redmond supporting students across the district. Officer Redmond has been an SRO for the past eight years, but says that Rudder has made a big difference in his ability to connect with students.

“I have had kids that have been in hard situations and Rudder has been able to calm them down,” said Officer Redmond. “There are relationships that I am able to build that I without him I do not know that I would otherwise be able to do that.”

The LPD is thankful for the continued partnership with Littleton Public Schools and will continue to have a dedicated SRO in every middle and high school in the district for the foreseeable future.

K9 Mikko with Officer Ben Stoneking

K9 Mikko is a one-year-old German Shepard Malinois mix and joined the LPD in February of 2025. He is originally from Budapest, Hungary, and arrived in the United States in 2024. Mikko and Officer Stoneking completed a six-week handler course with Gold Coast K9 and Mikko enjoys assisting the LPD with narcotic detection and apprehension needs.

Retired K9s

K9 Zan with Sergeant Krista Schmit
Service from 2017-2021

K9 Koda with Officer John Jones
Service from 2013-2019

K9 Sabor with Officer Brent Keiffer
Service from 2008-2017

K9 Kiya with Officer Jenny Geiser
Service from 2008-2010