GRESHAM POLICE MOURN DEATH OF BELOVED K9

Gresham Police Dept

Gresham, Ore.— With heavy hearts we announce the passing of one our beloved K9s, Basco.  Experiencing a rapidly progressing illness, 11-year-old Basco ended his watch over Gresham last night at 10:50 p.m. while on patrol with his partner, Officer Debler.  The two had been working side-by-side for almost 10 years.

Gresham Police acquired the ½ Belgian Malinois- ½ German Shepherd in 2012, when he was one year old.  Basco is credited with more than 300 apprehensions of suspected criminals. He is also responsible for countless situations where his presence brought quick and incident-free resolution to dangerous events.  “He was an amazing partner and exceptional canine,” Officer Debler said.  “I am thankful for all the work we did together to keep our community safe and I’ll miss him greatly.”

While primarily providing K9 services for patrol calls, Basco was also a fully integrated SWAT K9 as part of the East Metro SWAT team, used in numerous high-risk situations.  Basco was cross-trained for narcotics detection.

Thank you Basco for your years of service, you will be missed.