2nd Elizabeth Township police K9 sworn in

ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A new police K-9 is patrolling the streets of Elizabeth and Forward Townships.

Tuesday marked the first day on the job for K-9 Bear, a 4 1/2-year-old German Shepherd.

He was officially sworn in Monday night.

His handler, Officer Dwayne Beere, was sworn in about a month ago.

Together, they make up a new K-9 Unit on the Elizabeth Township police force, covering 50 square miles of both Elizabeth and Forward Townships.

Bear and Officer Beere spent the last four years working together in Clairton.

“We’ve gained this bond and this relationship and it’s amazing to be able to bring it back to my hometown of Elizabeth Township,” said Beere.

The pair is the department’s second K-9 Unit, alongside K-9 Eli and Officer Daniel Novacek.

The expansion of the narcotics unit is in response to the growing opioid epidemic and number of overdoses in the area and nationwide.

“Last year in the United States, over 100,000 people lost their lives to overdoses. That’s from either opioids or synthetic opioids,” explained Chief Ken Honick. “Elizabeth Township is also affected in a similar way. Certainly not at that high of a statistic, but we are also part of that suffering.”

Bear is highly trained to search for people, items, and drugs like meth, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.

Having a second K-9 Unit allows the department more flexibility and when it comes to searching and patrolling.

It’s an investment the Board of Commissioners agreed was well worth the cost.

“We want to make sure that it’s safe here and it’s important that people want to come here and be here, live here and retire here,” said Commissioner Chris Thoma, who represents Elizabeth Township’s Sixth Ward.

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