Draper Police Department’s K9 Daavo and his handler, Officer Ricks, recently had their official city photos taken. 

“After they finished, Officer Ricks thought getting a photo of Daavo wearing his uniform would be fun for him to share with friends. Our communications staff shot video of him getting Daavo ready for the picture and shared it on the City’s social media. The Instagram post as of publicattion has 335,935 views, 420,000 likes and 375 comments. It has steadily increased since it was posted on Jan. 29,” said Linda Peterson, Draper’s communications director. 

Daavo is a Belgian Malinois, born in Belgium and brought to the United States in 2018 to work for the Herriman Police Department. He is certified as dual-purpose for both patrol and narcotics detection. In 2020, Officer Ricks became Daavo’s handler and the two immediately bonded, both excelling in their patrol work and at K9 competitions. Daavo has won awards in both local and national competitions including a first place in narcotics detection in 2022. Daavo joined the Draper Police Department in August 2024 serving as a narcotics detection K9. 

“He has been an outstanding partner in getting drugs off the street in his short time in Draper,” Officer Ricks said. 

According to Officer Ricks, Daavo enjoys going on walks, napping and chasing his favorite ball when he's taking a break from work. λ