September 29th, 2026 K9s Prove They’re Among the Best With 10 Awards
Six West Jordan Police K9s and their handlers faced 30 other agencies in the Bradley Taylor Police Memorial K9 Trial 2026. They brought home ten awards in agility, tracking, narcotics detection and more! Four of the awards were first-place, and they placed third for Top Patrol Agency!
AwardHandler / K9PlacementTrackingOfficer Cardon / K9 Echo1st PlaceNarcotics Building SearchOfficer Strasters / K9 Murphey3rd PlaceNarcotics Search – Top AgencyWest Jordan Police Department2nd PlacePatrol Area SearchOfficer Cardon / K9 Echo5th PlaceObedienceSgt. Jones / K9 Vranik1st PlaceTough DogOfficer Collins / K9 Zhari1st PlaceTough DogSgt. Jones / K9 Vranik3rd PlaceAgility CompetitionSgt. Jones / K9 Vranik1st PlaceRookie Handler AwardOfficer Collins / K9 ZhariSpecial RecognitionTop Patrol AgencyWest Jordan Police Department3rd Place
“The competition allows us to showcase what no one gets to see,” said Sergeant Michael Jones, head of the West Jordan K9 squad. “That’s the level of efficiency and expertise that we’re providing out on the road every day, for both apprehension and narcotics detection.”
The three-day event challenges the dogs and handlers to show their best by putting them through realistic apprehension or narcotics search scenarios. But this year, there was a twist: distraction.
“While we were working agility with our dogs they had decoys out on the field,” Sgt. Jones said. ”Then they introduced the soccer ball and they were kicking it back and forth. That is another level of stress.”
How did the West Jordan K9s respond to the distractions?
“Our dogs just went right on by,” Sgt. Jones said. “That’s something that we’ve introduced into our training: We always have noises, gunfire going off, shatter sticks making noise during our training. We’ll have multiple decoys out on the field. It really does bleed out into our detection and apprehension work. You could be at Jordan landing, people are walking around, noises are going on, and we need the dog to stay focused. With SWAT, flashbangs may be going off or an explosive breach, and you need the dogs to stay focused with what they’re doing.”
The Bradley Taylor Police K9 Trials have grown since their first year. The event began three years ago in honor of Sandy City officer and K9 handler Bradley W. Taylor, who passed away from cancer in 2023. With more police departments competing this year, the stakes were higher.
“As more people start to compete, the importance of making sure you’re getting good quality training goes up,” Sgt. Jones said. “The number of awards we brought home shows the dedication that our squad has to always be pushing themselves, and also reflects on the officers and their dogs out on the field too.”
West Jordan Police six K9s and officers are constantly training and improving in narcotics and apprehension. We are grateful for their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to the award winners this year!
