Although the Great Bend Police Department is expected to lose one of their officers soon, they are currently fully staffed. A full staff in Great Bend includes 33 officers, four civilian positions, and eight crossing guards. The staff is even more complete with a handler in place with the department’s K-9 officer, Lazar.

After trading a K-9 officer in March to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and Lazar’s old handler resigning, the Police Department went from two operating K-9 officers to essentially none.

Captain Scott Bieberle says that changed when they sent Officer Amber Allen and Lazar to Louisiana to complete the K-9 Certification Training.

Scott Bieberle Audio

Allen and Lazar graduated from the training on November 15. The four-week training included vehicle sniffs, traffic stop searches, luggage sweeps, and more. Allen and Lazar have returned to Great Bend to their regular patrol duties.

Bieberle mentioned Allen and Lazar are subject to call back when the two are off duty if a K-9 officer is needed.