Meet Banjo, the new Homewood K9

There’s a new set of paws patrolling the streets of Homewood. Banjo, a two-year-old Dutch Shepherd, has joined the police department’s K9 unit and is already on the job.

Originally from Holland, Banjo was donated to the police department and underwent three months of training in suspect apprehension, tracking and narcotics detection before starting on the job. K9 Officer Keith Smith said Banjo began patrols on Jan. 15 with his handler, Officer Reggie Sutton, but he was formally accepted into the police department at the Jan. 26 city council meeting.

Sutton and Banjo work the night shift together. Smith said this shift typically has more need for tracking and drug sniffing, so Banjo is already quite busy. The dog may also make occasional appearances at public events.

“He is very energetic. He is very high-strung,” Smith said. “He loves to work.”

The police have two other K9s, Shiloh and Justice, that work the day shifts. Smith, Shiloh’s handler, said the police dogs are invaluable because they can locate hidden narcotics that officers cannot see, and they can track and apprehend suspects too difficult for police officers to approach.

“It’s another tool that the officers can use while conducting their jobs,” Smith said. “It’s a lot easier to send a dog into the woods to find somebody for safety reasons versus the officers.”