The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives provided Ion, a two-year-old English Labrador retriever, to the Sheriff's Office, according to a recent release. After 10 weeks of intensive training in Virginia, Ion and his handler Deputy Kevin Hobson successfully earned ATF certification, which the release described as the most stringent in the United States, placing Ion and Hobson "among the top tier explosive detection teams in the nation."
Longmont Firefighter Vince Van Binsbergen and Longmont Police School Resource Officer Brett Rimsky both recently earned their Public Safety Bomb Technician Certification.