Nitro Helping Sheriff’s Office Expand K-9 Unit

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There’s a new deputy in the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office and he’s got quite a nose for crime. Nitro is a German Shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix, who has joined the K-9 unit at the sheriff’s office.

Working Hard

Nitro is trained to sniff out explosives and alert his partner, Deputy Frank Carragher, if he finds anything. His first job? The BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club.

“We’re trained in explosive detection,” said Carragher. “So we go out and pre-search any events like this before anything that starts. I think we’re working pretty well as a team. He does his thing and I follow along, pretty much.”

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick is putting more emphasis on the K-9 unit. Nitro brings the K-9 roster up to four dogs, and there are plans to increase to eight over the next few months.

A Talented Nose

“The reason is that canines can do a lot of things that people can’t. These dogs can sniff over 250 different permutations of explosives, gunpowder, even shell casing residue,” said Mendrick.

Nitro will split his working hours between the DuPage County Courthouse, special events, and emergency calls.

Carragher asks for the public not to approach or pet Nitro in the field. While Nitro is very friendly off-duty, he and other police dogs are very focused while on the job.

Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.