Police K-9 Cedar Sniffs Out Narcotics in Milford

After Milford Police Detective Arthur Huggins retired last year, so did Kilmer, Huggin's black lab, who had served as a K-9 for 10 years.

Det. Huggins' partner, Detective Dennis Broderick, has continued with the K-9 narcotics tradition, and his golden lab, Cedar, has helped Police retrieve 14 pounds of marijuana, 44 grams of cocaine, 127 grams of crack cocaine, 244 grams of heroin and $111,196 of confiscated money from suspected drug activities over the course of her 10-month career.

In addition to their work for Milford Police, Det. Broderick and Cedar have helped several law enforcement agencies in New Haven County, Fairfield County, State Police and the U.S. Postal Service.

In order to becoming a K-9, Cedar went through a 13-week program to be imprinted for the smell of narcotics. She has been trained to recognize the odor and point to the illegal narcotics.

"The training never stops," said Det. Broderick. Since Cedar's graduation on May 17, 2012, Det. Broderick has been working with her every day. 

Detective Dennis Broderick, who has a license to carry illegal drugs, assists with car stops when it is suspected that narcotics are in the vehicle, in addition to his work in the Milford Police Narcotics Division.

"Some people see the dog, and just give up," Det. Broderick said, when Cedar is on the scene.

Det. Broderick has been with Milford Police for eleven year, and has been a Detective since 2009. There are no special costs associated with Cedar, beyond food and veterinarian bills. 

Regarding drug arrests, Det. Broderick describes Milford as "predominantly a user environment." Cedar has been used to help drug arrests in Stratford, Bridgeport and New Haven, among other municipalities.

Cedar is 3-years-old and Det. Broderick hopes that she will serve with Milford Police for seven or eight years before she retires to a domestic life.

Many people might think that Cedar would be aggressive, but she a "passive" dog. She'll come right up to you, and is very friendly, but if there are drugs on your person, she'll find them.

Due to her interest in chasing squirrels and running around, Cedar failed out of a guiding eyes program. That program's loss has been Milford's gain.

When Cedar works, she does not realize that she is assisting in drug arrests, she just knows that when she finds drugs, she gets fed a treat.