CLINTON, Conn. (WTNH) — Clinton police received a donation of a new canine officer that has been named after their fallen comrade, Sergeant Dustin DeMonte. 

K-9 Monte, a dual-purpose black German Shepherd,  was a gift from the Hometown Foundation, Inc to the Clinton Police Department. He is a replacement for K-9 Sunny, a seven year veteran of the Clinton PD who recently retired, and the new partner of K9 Handler Corporal Jason Frey. 

Cpl. Frey was given the honor of naming the new K-9 officer and chose to do so after a former classmate. Cpl. Frey graduated from the Connecticut Police Academy in 2012 alongside Sergeant Dustin DeMonte of the Bristol Police Department. Sgt. DeMonte was killed in the line of duty in October of last year. He was a 10 year veteran of the police and was named his departments’ officer of the year in 2019. 

K-9 Monte will specialize in obedience, tracking, building/area searches, evidence recovery, suspect apprehension and narcotics detection.