Tunkhannock Township introduces new police K9 officer and vehicle to residents

Residents walking into the Tunkhannock Township Municipal Building got a close look at something police departments rarely unveil casually: a K-9 team built for work, not ceremony. Patrolman Ben Seibert introduced the township police department’s new K-9 officer alongside the department’s new vehicle, giving residents a public look at the equipment that will carry the dog into real deployments.

The vehicle mattered as much as the dog. K-9 work depends on safe transport, ventilation, organized gear storage and the ability to get from the station to a scene without delay. A dedicated unit gives Seibert and the department a place for the dog to ride securely, keeps training and tactical equipment within reach, and helps the team move fast when a search, patrol stop or detection call comes in. For a small department, that kind of readiness is not a luxury. It is the difference between improvising with a standard cruiser and sending a dog out in a setup designed around its welfare and performance.

That public introduction also showed how seriously Tunkhannock Township has treated its K-9 program from the start. The department’s first modern K-9, Etu, a two-year-old German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix, arrived in 2022 with Seibert after a state grant worth more than $35,000 helped fully fund the program. Etu and Seibert were scheduled for 12 weeks of training at SCI Rockview in State College, where the dog was trained for narcotics, firearms and human detection. By March 31, 2022, officers said Etu had already helped in a drug bust.

The township’s investment stretched beyond the initial rollout. Endless Mountains Veterinary Center provided free care for Etu’s life, and Tractor Supply supplied food, a reminder that a working dog’s success depends on more than training and instinct. It depends on maintenance, health care and steady support behind the scenes.

That is why the new vehicle debut carried real operational weight. Wyoming County had gone about a decade without a K-9 unit before Etu’s arrival, Chief Edward Morristell said at the time, and the township’s small police force serves Tunkhannock Township and Falls Township from 113 Tunkhannock Township Drive. The public unveiling showed that the program is still being built as a working asset, with the dog, handler and equipment all aimed at faster response and safer, more effective service.

After Etu died in January 2026 following a sudden medical condition, the department’s new K-9 presence made the same point in a different way: high-drive dogs need a system around them, and Tunkhannock Township is still investing in that system.