A group of Republican legislators are introducing a new bill to support municipalities that have K9 officers.
The bill dubbed "Broko's Bill" is in honor of K9 Broko, a K9 officer with Stonington Police who was killed in the line of duty while trying to protect his handler in December.
State Senator Heather Somers, who is one of the sponsors of the bill, said this is crucial legislation that will show respect to all of those who protect and serve.
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“This is a day to validate our law enforcement and our law enforcement representatives that have four legs, our K9 officers,” Somers said.
Somers explained that judges are allowed to charge defendants restitution of up to $10,000 when a K9 officer is killed. This money, however, goes to the court.
If passed this bill would ensure that money goes to the law enforcement agency the K9 officer was a part of.
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Somers explained law enforcement agencies spend more than $20,000 on purchasing the dogs, training them, and putting resources into them.
On Wednesday, several Republican lawmakers as well as police officers and K9 officers were at the State Capitol in support of the bill.
“As you can see here, these dogs are full of energy all the time. They want to work and anything we can do to keep these dogs safe and any bills that can pass that can keep them working longer and provide the towns an opportunity to keep them safe, we greatly appreciate it," a Groton police officer who is also a K9 handler said.
The bill was discussed in a committee meeting shortly after the press conference.
Senator Somers expects it to pass through the committee meeting successfully.
