LEX

March 14. By Dave Vieser. There’s a new police officer in town…and he goes by the name Lex. A 21-month-old male Belgian Malinois, K9 Lex has teamed up with Corporal Derek Queen.  They recently completed a two-week training course in Alabama, which included building and vehicle searches, detection of illegal substances, article search, tracking and suspect apprehension.

QUEEN

Queen is an experienced canine partner. At their March 6 meeting, the Cornelius Town Board honored Queen and his former partner, Dag. The German Shephard was put to sleep in October after his health declined rapidly.

During their four-year partnership, along with regular duties, they assisted Homeland Security at Charlotte Douglas Airport and were directly responsible for the seizure of approximately $754,000 believed to be from drug trafficking. In another incident, they located almost a large amount of cocaine hidden in a powder milk bag resulting in a 2-year federal sentence for the suspect.

Police Chief Bence Hoyle said the training which Queen and his K-9 companions go though is extensive “and it has worked beyond our wildest expectations.” Indeed, Corporal Queen was also named the 2016 Officer of the Year.