NYPD K-9 handler's ‘best friend' named after dad — who was killed in line of duty when she was 9
NYPD K-9 Officer Katarina Narvaez became a cop to honor her dad who was killed in the line of duty in Brooklyn — and his memory lives on right by her side, every day at work.
Narvaez, 37, was just 9 years old when her best friend in the world — Lt. Frederico Narvaez — was fatally shot while responding to a domestic incident in Flatbush on Oct. 18, 1996.
Twenty-two years later, when she joined the K-9 team of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, she met her new best friend, a wire-haired pointer/Labrador mix pooch.
So she named him Freddy.
'I feel honored that they let me name him after my dad,' Narvaez said. 'I wasn't sure if they were going to allow that. It meant a lot to me when they said that I could.'
Now she hangs out all the time with with Freddy, an 8-year-old specialist in finding guns, and anything that can explode, including potassium chlorate, C4, dynamite and other compounds.
She and Freddy showed off his impressive sniffer Wednesday to The Post at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Red Hook, where ESU canines are based.
Navaez led Freddy toward three abandoned vehicles where another cop hid a fake pistol dipped in gunpowder.
Once released from his collar, Freddy excitedly sniffed around the first two vehicles but came up empty.
When he got to the third car, however, he slowed down and zeroed in on the right front bumper.
Then, he sat down – which means he hit pay dirt.
''Freddy has a great nose,' said ESU Detective and trainer Christina Orlando.
After Freddy found the gun, Narvaez threw him a rope — his favorite toy — as a reward.
'Such a good dog!' she cooed.
Narvaez still gets emotional when she talks about her dad, who was working in the 70th Precinct in Flatbush when he answered a call of a woman being stalked.
When Narvaez arrived after calling for backup, career criminal Harvey Richardson, 61, turned and fired, striking him in the face as he exited his patrol car before he could get off a shot. Responding cops shot Richardson dead.
'He was a great dad,' she said, choking up. 'He was just an awesome guy to be around. I looked forward to Mondays because that was his RDO (regular day off). I could just go home after school and we'd just hang out for the rest of the day.'
Narvaez learned about K-9 cops after her dad was killed.
'When I was a kid and found out you could work with dogs, I was like, 'I can be a police officer and work with dogs?'' she recalled. ''Come on! Sign me up.''
Narvaez dropped out of Hunter College after being accepted into the NYPD and has been an officer for 12 years, starting out in her dad's old 70 Precinct.
'I feel like the primary goal of a police officer is to help people and I really enjoy doing that,' she said. 'And that's what made me want to be a cop.'
When she was moved to the Emergency Services Unit and paired with Freddy, she was ecstatic.
Soon, Freddy will be staying home while Navaez, who is married, is at work.
NYPD canines retire at 9, so she's about to be paired with a new dog.
'It's scary,' said the cop, who lives with Freddy 24/7. 'This guy's my best friend. He comes with me everywhere . . . I don't know what I'm gonna do.'
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