Our K9 Dream Team of the week is…. Drum roll…. D/S Phillips and K9 Ketchum!
D/S Matt Phillips has been with the PCSO since 2011. Ketchum is his second pointy-eared paw-rtner, and they began working together in 2019. A fun fact about D/S Phillips is that he was one of the first PCSO K9 handlers to have both a bloodhound paw-rtner (Chase, now retired) and patrol paw-rtner at the same time!
On Friday, August 16, 2024, Ketchum did exactly what he was named for – he caught Eber Lopez who is wanted by the FBI for smuggling cocaine, and by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for resisting arrest with violence.
D/S Phillips and Ketchum and U.S. Marshals from the Florida Regional Fugitives Task Force (FRFTF) arrived at Lopez’s home to arrest him, but Lopez chose to hide in a closet instead. Ketchum is a professional hide and seek player, and was able to coax Lopez out of his hiding place with a little persuasion.
Great job getting this guy off the streets Phillips & Ketchum!.
By Polk County Sheriff’s Department
