A K9 officer with the Gwinnett County Police Department, shot and killed in the line of duty last week, will be laid to rest Tuesday morning in Barrow County.
K9 Blue will be remembered in a private service at Oak Rest Pet Gardens Cemetery in Bethlehem.
While only police officers and invited guests will attend the ceremony, members of the public are welcome to line the procession route to pay tribute to the K9 officer. The procession will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Gwinnett County Police Department Training Center at 854 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville.
"The procession will turn left on Winder Highway and travel to Highway 316 Eastbound," said Cpl. Collin Flynn in an email statement."The procession will travel down 316 Eastbound to Harbins Road where it will turn right. The procession will end at 2691 Harbins Road."
SWAT K9 Blue, who was shot and killed on Sept. 10 as he was tracking a suspect who had fled from a stolen vehicle investigation, worked with the Gwinnett County Police Department for just over one year as the agency’s first dedicated SWAT K9, according to Flynn. He was a dual purpose tracking/apprehension and explosives detection canine. K9 Blue was specially trained to work in a SWAT environment to conduct mission-specific SWAT canine duties. Flynn said a nationwide search was conducted for months before selecting K9 Blue out of Houston, Texas.
"The police department would like to thank the countless members of the public who have reached out with their condolences for SWAT K9 Blue over the past few days," Flynn said.
