Middletown Police Dog Retires In Style ... Nabs Fleeing Suspect

MIDDLETOWN, CT — Middletown police dog Koda certainly knows how to retire in style.

On Saturday, with Koda and Officer Matthew Bloom on their final shift together, they took down a suspect on a violent home invasion in Middletown.

Koda and Bloom spent eight years on the job together. During that span, Koda has had several successful tracks, evidence recoveries, apprehensions, and was also a celebrity in the community and at local schools.

Bloom and Koda won several awards, most notably first place at the 2021 Connecticut K-9 Olympics obstacle challenge.

"K-9 Koda will be missed by the members of MPD and our community but he has earned his retirement and will be spoiled at home by his family," police said in announcing his retirement. "We wish you many more years of belly rubs and kong toys buddy. Congratulations and thank you for your service."

As part of the home invasion and subsequent crash in North Haven as the suspects fled, five men from out of state have been charged.

All were held on $1 million bond and are charged with counts including home invasion, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment, police said.

Officers responded to the incident at The Wilcox apartment complex on the 300 block of South Main St. at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday. According to a police report, A person heard screaming and saw multiple masked men knock on a neighbor's door and force their way inside.

Officers encountered the men running from the building, with most diving into a maroon Cadillac DTS and one leaving on foot, according to a police report.

The man on foot was arrested on Pameacha Avenue, and officers found two people inside the apartment who had freed themselves from zip ties and another who was hit in the head with a gun after she refused to be tied up, according to a police report. Jewelry, a gun and other valuables were stolen, according to a police police report.

The Cadillac was spotted on South Main Street and officers followed it south into Durham, west on Route 22 in North Branford and north on Hartford Turnpike in North Haven, and it crashed into another vehicle and a guardrail along the 1500 block of Hartford Turnpike, according to a police report.

After being surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, the men tried to flee the Cadillac on foot, police said. Koda was released by Bloom and easily caught one of them, police said.

Officers recovered the stolen gun at the scene of the crash, according to a police report.