MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) – Two new K9 officers joined the Myrtle Beach Police Department on Tuesday, including one dog trained to find explosives.
The agency mainly will use Officer “Goggles” to sweep for bombs and explosives before big events in the city.
In the past, Myrtle Beach police had to borrow K9s from other local departments to check for explosives.
The other officer sworn in today, named Bec, is an apprehension dog that will help officers make arrests.
Bec and Goggles bring the myrtle beach police department’s number of dogs in its K9 unit to five.
Police say having Goggles close by will be invaluable.
“Obviously the need for it with all of the special events we have such as the marathon, country music fest and all the other large gatherings of people,” says Ofc. Kenneth Harlow, “we want to try to keep everybody as safe as possible when they’re in the city, and one of the biggest threats is obviously an explosive device, so we want to make sure that everybody can come and have a good time and get home safely.”