2-year-old K9 'Hawk' is newest Carlinville police officer

CARLINVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A quadruped named "Hawk" is the newest member of the Carlinville Police Department.

The male Belgian Malinois graduated from the Illinois State Police K9 Academy this month. The two-year-old is assigned to Officer Tyson Probst.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/24UT4EW ) Hawk replaces the department's previous K9, "Capone," who died Jan. 11 just before turning nine.

Police Chief David Haley says the agency used grant funds to purchase the dog and a private donation for his 10-week academy course.

Probst says Hawk wasn't enthused about sitting in the squad car for 12 hours on his first shift, but responded well when Probst needed him to perform.

Capone had an aggressive attitude and couldn't be taken into schools. But Hawk is personable and schoolchildren helped choose his name.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com