Support Wilton Police K9 Enzo. He Tracks Thieves, Sniffs Narcotics and Saves Lives

This information is shared by Wilton Police Dept. Chief Lombardo 

The Wilton Police Department K-9 Unit comprised of canine ENZO and Officer Stephen Rangel appreciates all the financial support it has received from donors over the past two years. However, the Unit is in need of continued support to remain the invaluable asset they have proven to be to the Department and the Wilton Community. 

Enzo, a three year old shepherd was imported from Hungary and his counterpart Officer Rangel, is an eight and a half year veteran officer of the Department.

Since becoming partners, Enzo and Officer Rangel have been trained in search and rescue tracking and narcotics detection. During the past year they have been involved in over 40 cases and proven to be a great asset to the community.

They have presented more than a dozen community related demonstrations for children and adults throughout Wilton. Officer Rangel and Enzo have been responsible for multiple drug arrests in the field, but more importantly, locating an elderly woman who had been missing all day.

Rangel and canine Enzo also saved the life of a suicidal woman. During the search for this person, the K-9 was able to track the victim in the dark to a body of water and officers were then able to pull her to safety. They were able to locate her quickly and transport her to the hospital. With Officer Rangel and Enzo on duty response was immediate to the scene. A tracking search was initiated and a scent detected leading officers to the location of the victim quickly. 

Thankfully, the officers had the K-9 Team at their disposal for tracking, which prevented the loss of a life. It was nighttime and the area to be searched by officers was very large. If we had been dependent upon another agency for K-9 assistance it could have taken anywhere from 45 minutes to more than an hour for response and the outcome may have been different.

Some of the work I have described involves Officer Rangel and Enzo coming to the aid at simple traffic stops where the responding officers detected the odor of narcotics. K-9 Enzo was called in and sniffed out the narcotics in many instances where the offender had denied possession. Officer Rangel and Enzo have also been utilized to track individuals in several larceny cases, which allowed our officers to locate and take the suspects into custody. The K-9 Unit has also uncovered narcotics during a domestic investigation. 

These are just a few examples of how our K-9 Unit has proven to be beneficial to our community. 

Officer Rangel and Enzo spend each day on patrol in Wilton. Enzo resides with Officer Rangel and trains on a regular basis. They are also members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association and the North American 
Police Work Dog Association. 

We ask for your continued support of this program to help us sustain the project and enhance the safety of residents. Those wishing to make a donation to this program may do so by sending donations to the Wilton Police Department, 240 Danbury Road. Checks may be made out to the Wilton Police Department K-9 Fund.