Police Department in Wisconsin mourns loss of retired K-9 born in Germany, aided in high risk searches
CUDAHY, Wis. (WFRV) – The Cudahy Police Department is in mourning after the loss of beloved retiree police K-9 Rex, who passed away on Sunday, February 9 at the age of 12.
Born in Germany on June 21, 2013, the German Shepherd spent time training and earning his certification before coming to America as a police K-9 with multiple areas of expertise including the following:
Narcotics detection
Building searches
Tracking
Criminal apprehensions
Officer protection
Manitowoc Police K9 born in Slovakia retires after eight years, helped seize over $78,000 and 7.5 pounds of illegal drugs
Rex was also trained in obedience and could run eight miles in a specific time frame for certification. His birth name in Germany was 'Monster vom Lisdorferland,' but changed when he came to the United States in February 2015.
The name Rex came from the grandmother of his handler, Corporal Holly Bhirdo, who chose the name.
'Rex was a valuable asset and partner to not only Cpl. Bhirdo but to all of the men & women of the Cudahy Police Department,' the post said. 'Rex and Cpl. Bhirdo also assisted the Milwaukee FBI in several operations while both served the community on active duty.'
Study: Wisconsin pays some of the highest property taxes in the United States
In addition, the duo of Rex and Cpl. Bhirdo worked with the South Shore Joint Tactical Unit, assisting in multiple high-risk search warrants and tactical operations in the county.
When Cpl. Bhirdo took a break from the force in April 2021, Rex joined along and retired to live at home. Rex passed away on February 9, surrounded by the family.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
18 hours ago
- Axios
Axios Explains: Inside ICE's superpowers
The images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans — and led to a simple question: Is all of this legal? It is — at least for now. Why it matters: Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created after the 9/11 attacks, its agents have operated with vastly more enforcement power, less transparency and fewer guardrails than local police. ICE's rules were designed largely to give the agency broad leeway in helping the FBI identify and arrest domestic terror suspects. Now the Trump administration is using that power to go after unauthorized immigrants — potentially millions of them — with a frequency and aggressiveness that has sent ripples through communities nationwide. Zoom in: Under Trump, critics say, ICE has become the closest thing the U.S. has to a secret police force. ICE agents aren't required to wear body cameras, can cover their faces, don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, can arrive in unmarked cars and don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone. Like those with other federal enforcement agencies, they can ignore rules that govern local police departments, particularly those local agencies with histories of abuse or that operate under court-imposed restrictions on racial profiling. In some cases, ICE agents can even arrest U.S. citizens — but they aren't supposed toplace them in immigration detention units. Even so, a few U.S. citizens have been detained in recent ICE raids because of agents' mistakes or negligence. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has defended ICE agents' tactics and the covering of their faces, saying in a statement that they're "facing a 500% increase in assaults against them while carrying out enforcement operations." She blamed Democrats for "violent rhetoric" against ICE agents. Critics say there's no evidence of a 500% increase in assaults on ICE agents, and that agents still should follow the law. "The tactics are causing fear in our communities," Vanessa Cárdenas of the advocacy group America's Voice told Axios. Zoom out: ICE was formed in 2003. It was placed under the control of the new Department of Homeland Security and replaced the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which had been under the Justice Department. To protect national security after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, lawmakers gave ICE a unique combination of civil and criminal authorities. ICE initially didn't have the reputation of INS (known as " La Migra" to Latinos), but that changed under President Obama, when ICE expanded its operations to help carry out one of the largest deportations of unauthorized immigrants in decades. Immigrant rights groups began an "Abolish ICE" movement in 2018 — during President Trump's first term — as activists tried to bring attention to the agency's secretive tactics, which went unnoticed by most Americans. What can ICE do ICE is tasked with enforcing the nation's immigration laws anywhere within the nation's interior (the Border Patrol's jurisdiction is 100 miles into the interior, from any land or maritime border). ICE agents can arrest anyone they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally. They can arrest U.S. citizens only if they see them "breaking laws." To conduct raids or operations targeting suspects, ICE agents only need an "administrative warrant" — a warrant signed by a supervisor, not a judge, Rebekah Wolf, director of the American Immigration Council's Immigration Justice Campaign, tells Axios. ICE agents can conceal their identities and refuse any request to disclose their personal information. This has led to conflicts between people ICE agents have encountered, as well as allegations by Trump's administration that protesters have tried to dox agents involved in raids. Wolf said officers in other agencies are required to identify themselves and provide badge numbers to prevent impersonators. ICE has no such requirement, and there have been reports of ICE impersonators harassing people, creating more chaos and uncertainty in some communities. ICE doesn't have to collect evidence for cases and has few parameters around its use of force. Because it's such a young agency, it hasn't faced many lawsuits and court challenges to its use-of-force policies, unlike other federal agencies such as the FBI, the Forest Service or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That's resulted in few directives aimed at limiting ICE agents' tactics. ICE units can conduct pre-dawn raids, unannounced entries (with judicial or administrative warrants), and surveillance without many of the public accountability rules that serve as checks on local authorities. What ICE can't do ICE agents can't enter a private home unless they have a judicial warrant. They still must adhere to the Constitution regarding the search and seizure limits protecting U.S. citizens. Although ICE isn't supposed to place U.S. citizens in immigration detention, Cárdenas says its agents have been detaining U.S.-born Latinos and dismissing their proof of citizenship as fake before eventually letting them go. This has led to allegations of racial profiling. ICE did not immediately respond for comment on these episodes. ICE also can't force a local law enforcement agency to join an operation, but police are obligated to keep order if protesters surround and ICE operation. The accountability question Allegations of abuse by ICE agents rarely are investigated because they typically involve immigrants who are removed from the U.S., Wolf said. Any internal investigations are conducted by the DHS's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, or the department's inspector general. Joseph V. Cuffari, DHS's inspector general, was appointed by Trump during the president's first term and was not among the IGs Trump fired after taking office this year. Public accountability is limited for ICE agents — there are no regular civilian review boards and typically no body camera footage to use as evidence. What we're watching: Some immigration advocates and Democrats in Congress want to reduce ICE's powers. U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation to prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Judge impounds list of jurors in Karen Read trial indefinitely
Citing the 'divisive' interest the high-profile case has received, Cannone said she believes 'there is a risk of immediate and irreparable injury should the list be made available to the public at this time.' In light of that, the list will remain sealed 'until and unless otherwise ordered by the Court.' Advertisement Read, 45, was acquitted June 18 in Norfolk Superior Court of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. She was convicted only of a misdemeanor OUI offense and sentenced to a year's probation. Prosecutors said she backed her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage into Boston police officer John O'Keefe early on Jan. 29, 2022, after dropping him off outside a Canton home following a night of bar-hopping. Her lawyers said she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn. Advertisement Read's first trial had ended with a hung jury last year, and she still faces a wrongful death lawsuit brought by O'Keefe's family in Plymouth Superior Court. Travis Andersen can be reached at
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: What Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has done as health secretary
Good afternoon, Chicago. A fourth person has died after a suspicious fire erupted at an apartment building in the Austin neighborhood yesterday morning, the Chicago Fire Department said today. The body of the fourth victim, who hasn't been identified, was recovered Friday among the rubble at the building in the 5200 block of West North Avenue, according to Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford. Three others — two adults and one child — also died in the blaze that broke out shortly before 2 a.m. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Yesterday evening marked Stray Kids' Wrigley Field debut, as well as the stadium's first time hosting a K-pop group in its history. Fans from across the Midwest gathered in Chicago for the group's 12th and final U.S. show in its 2024-25 'dominATE' world tour. Read more here. More top news stories: Global shares were mostly higher today as the week was winding down with the Israel-Iran ceasefire still in place and signs of progress on a China-U.S. trade deal. Read more here. More top business stories: The Cubs (48-33) and White Sox (25-66) have officially passed the halfway point of the season. Here's a guide for the next 81 games for both teams, including key series and a list of each ballpark's theme nights. Read more here. More top sports stories: History is not just a study of the past, but a conversation between where we've been, where we're at and where we're going. And no record label understands it as intimately as Numero Group. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: The Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy has taken unprecedented steps to change how vaccines are evaluated, approved and recommended — sometimes in ways that run counter to established scientific consensus. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
