K-9 Handler Places Second in Nation, Best Ever in Lakeland

Aaron Peterman is going down in the Lakeland Police Department’s history books as the highest-scoring K-9 handler in the agency’s history and ranked second in the nation.

Peterman, along with his dog Charief, finished second at this year’s United States Police Canine Association’s Nation Filed Trial in West Des Moines, Iowa, held Sept. 27 through Oct. 2.

And Peterman’s 690.5 score was the highest individual score in the nearly 30-year history of the department’s K-9 unit.

His score was 9.5 points shy of a perfect score of 700.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself because of the lineage of this unit,” Peterman said. “It’s fun. It’s a lot of fun. But it’s not something I do by myself. It’s a cumulative of everyone in the unit.”

Peterman, who has been with the unit for three years, said he learns from other unit members and integrates those techniques into training and working with Charief.

Peterman wasn’t the only LPD K-9 officer to receive national honors.

Officer Jeff Barrett, with his dog Benno, finished eighth in the nation with a total score of 671.17. Barrett is a veteran in the unit, having served as a K-9 officer for 21 years.

“It takes a lot of control for these dogs to stay and sit,” he said. “They have so much energy.”

Through competitions like these, officers have the chance to show the public their controlled command of the animals.

Peterman and Barrett were selected to attend and represent Region One, which includes Florida and parts of South Georgia, of the USPCA because of their individual placements during a field trial earlier this year in Valdosta, Ga.

Placing at the national competition is no easy feat, as handlers and their canine companions are judged rigorously, Peterman and Barrett said.

If the dog heels too close, it’s a point deduction. Too far, that’s another point. If the dog sits at too much of an angle, kiss another point goodbye.

The categories are agility, obedience, search and apprehension. They are split into sub-categories.

Besides his second place overall, Peterman and his dog placed first in agility, second in obedience, third in search and fifth in apprehension.

In team competition, Peterman and Barrett competed for Region One with North Florida officers Lazaro Cabera and Harry Barraclough, ranking first in the competition as well.

By Jeremy Maready

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