Good Boy! K-9 Pax retires from JPD

The Jackson Police Department said farewell to a special member Monday, May 8 as K-9 Pax, their ten-year-old German Shepherd, retired from the department. 

K-9 Pax served for eight years with the Jackson Police Dept., and was instrumental in finding more than 40 suspects, including a man later convicted of murder– Urshawn Miller. 

“After a long and difficult track, K-9 Pax was able to locate the suspect later identified as Urshawn Miller in a wooded area, and officers began to surround that area. After it became evident that Miller was not going to surrender, K-9 Pax was sent to physically apprehend him. Without hesitation he did this, allowing Miller to be safely taken into custody,” Police Chief Thom Corley said during K9 Pax’s retirement ceremony.

K9 Pax also helped recover more than 100 lbs. of marijuana, 10 grams of heroin, one lb. of methamphetamine, one ounce of cocaine, and more than 1000 oxycontin pills. 

In his retirement, K-9 Pax will live with Officer Jeremy Stines and his family, as Officer Stines has been his handler for the last eight years. He will receive full medical benefits, as well. 

“They they live in a different world than we do, as far as being able to see and smell things that we can’t. We're able to harness that so that they can locate and detect things that we can't, whether it's a violent person, or drugs or explosives. They provide that facet to the department that just makes the community safer,” Sgt. Brandon Moss said after the ceremony. 

The Jackson Police Department also introduced three new dogs joining the force: K-9 Nico, K-9 Havok, and K-9 Jax. 

K-9 Nico is a Belgian Malinois dual-purpose trained for patrol and explosives detection, who will be handled by Officer Stines. 

K-9 Havok will be handled by Officer Nathan Howard. He is a long-haired German Shepherd trained for patrol and drug detection.

Although K9 Jax has been in the department for a couple of years, this was his first public appearance. He is a yellow lab single-purpose drug detection dog. K-9 Jax has been assigned to Officer Zac Cobb in support of the new drug task force.

Julia Ewoldt, julia@jacksonpost.news