- Northwest Indiana – Three soldiers recently graduated from the Indiana State Police K-9 Academy in Indianapolis. Private William Carlson and his K-9 partner Cooper, Private Benjamin Beers and his K-9 partner Zero, and Private Logan Hensley and his K-9 partner Kai all successfully completed their training Dec. 2022.
Policeman William Carlson is a seven-year veteran of the Indiana State Police. During his tenure, he served the department as a drug recognition expert (DRE), mobile field team member (MFF), control tactics instructor, and as a field training officer (FTO). Cooper is a 1 1/2 year old German Shepherd.
Police Officer Benjamin Beers is a five-year veteran of the Indiana State Police. Trooper Beers was assigned to Indiana Toll Road for his entire career. During his tenure, he served the department as an FTO and was recognized as a Trooper of the District (Toll Road) in 2020. He was the top recipient of the OWI Application for the Toll Road in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In 2021 , led the State of Indiana in OWI shutdowns. Trooper Beers and Zero will be moving to the Lowell Post in Spring 2023. Zero is a 1 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd mix.
Private Logan Hensley is a former handler of Zeus’ K-9 who passed away in 2022. Private Hensley has been assigned to the Indiana Toll Road for the past four years.
During his tenure, he was a member of the All Crimes Policing Team, K-9 handler and FTO. Private Hensley wanted to honor his former partner by naming his new partner Kai, which is short for Kairos, who was the son of Zeus. Kai is a 1 and a half year old German Shepherd. Officer Hensley and Kai will remain assigned to Indiana Toll Road.
The Indiana State Police K9 Academy runs for 12 weeks and is held in Indianapolis. All soldiers and their K-9 partners complete over 400 hours of training together.
They receive training in obedience, tracking, area finding, building finding, item finding, apprehension, and narcotic detections. The Indiana State Police currently has 34 K-9 patrol teams and six K-9 explosives detection teams.
