By Police1 Staff
WEST COVINA, Calif. — A retired officer and SWAT K-9 handler has died.
Brad Smith, who retired from the West Covina Police Department after 30 years of service, died on April 5. Smith was a K-9 handler and trainer for West Covina for 25 years and a SWAT K-9 handler for 18 years.
Since 1999, Smith served as the National K-9 chairman for the National Tactical Officers Association and a K-9 Subject Matter Expert for the California Association of Tactical Officers. He specialized in field tactics and officer safety.
Smith also designed and launched a K-9 SWAT and K-9 Patrol Tactical School known as S.K.I.D.D.S. and CATS. He owned Canine Tactical Operations and Consulting and wrote the book “K-9 Tactical Operations for Patrol and SWAT.”
Smith, who was a Police1 columnist, had published more than 80 articles for several publications on K-9 SWAT deployment and training.