ISP Toll Road Post in LaGrange County welcomes K9 Bandit

LAGRANGE COUNTY, Ind. -- The Indiana State Police posts in LaGrange County will be welcoming a new officer in the coming weeks in year and a half year old German Shepard K9 Bandit. 

On Tuesday, Trooper Ryan Parent graduated from the ISP K9 Training School and was joined by his new K9 partner, Bandit, at the ceremony in Indianapolis.

According to the ISP, the K9 School is an annual 12-week school held in Indianapolis, with over 480 hours of instruction to include obedience, tracking, locating articles of evidence, apprehension of fighting or fleeing suspects, building searches, narcotics detection, and handler protection.

"K9 handlers also receive training in K9 legal concepts and classes on odor detection theory and tracking situations," ISP officials said. "Teams train at night and in varying conditions with scenario-based training and problem-solving situations for eight to ten hours a day."

Parent is a four-year ISP veteran and will be joined by Bandit at the ISP Toll Road Post. The pair will patrol the Indiana Toll Road primarily in LaGrange and Steuben Counties.