March 19, 2024

02.15.18 Baytown Police K-9 Team earns TOP DOG Award


The Baytown Police Department is proud to announce that one of our Police K-9 Teams, Corporal
Jeremy Stevens and his partner “X”, were awarded Top Patrol Dog Team at the 22nd annual
Dothan Police Department K-9 Training Seminar and Competition which was held in Dothan
Alabama February 5th thru February 9th of this year.
The seminar/competition was comprised of 50 Dog Teams from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Georgia and Texas. These dog teams ranged from tracking, single purpose detection and dual
purpose dogs. During this week long event these teams were put through numerous training
scenarios in narcotics detection, patrol functions and tracking. The last two days of the seminar
had teams competing against other in the various categories, with Corporal Stevens and “X”
being named Top Patrol Dog Team. For a dog team, patrol work is very demanding and
challenging as it tests an array of skills, including the dog being evaluated for advanced off leash
obedience, agility, tracking, building searches, area searches, article searches, handler protection
and criminal apprehension.
As one of our dual purpose dogs, “X” is trained in both narcotics detection as well as patrol
functions. He is a 7 year veteran with our department, with the last 5 years being partnered with
Corporal Stevens, who is an 18 year veteran with the department, 13 of which have been as a
member of our K-9 Unit. Corporal Stevens and “X” have been instrumental in seizing hundreds of
pounds of narcotics, thousands of dollars in illegal proceeds as well as numerous criminal
apprehensions over the years, earning them the respect of many in the law enforcement
community. Two of our other K-9 officers, Officer Jeffery Spencer and Corporal Johnny
Almendarez along with their K-9 partners were also ranked in the top 10 of the teams, earning
our department’s K-9 Unit nothing but praise from the judges at the competition.
The Baytown Police Department’s K-9 Unit is currently made up of five dog teams, 1 blood
hound for tracking and 4 dual purpose dogs. All of these teams are extremely committed to
excellence and spend a tremendous amount of time ensuring their respective dogs are highly
trained and effective under stressful situations, which is evident by how well they did at this
competition. We are extremely proud of all of our K-9 Teams, but especially Corporal Stevens
and “X” who continue to represent the Baytown Police Department and the City of Baytown very
well and serve as a perfect example of the high level of professionalism and commitment to
excellence our officers and staff strive to attain every day.