Sergeants graduate from K9 Tracking Team Academy
Sgt. Gregory Colaluca, from the Franklin Correctional Institution, and Sgt. Jason Parke, from Gulf CI, were among 28 graduates from across Florida to complete the Florida Department of Corrections’ K9 Tracking Team Academy.
The two-week program teaches correctional officers from across the state essential skills such as K9 handling and advanced tracking techniques, tactical weapons proficiency during daylight and nighttime hours, and the broader roles and responsibilities of the tracking teams.
“These graduates exemplify the department’s mission to protect public safety within our communities,” said Florida Department of Corrections Region II Regional Director of Institutions John Palmer. “As these officers return to their home institutions, their communities can feel a further sense of security knowing they have these highly trained professionals ready to serve and protect with unwavering dedication and commitment.”
While the primary role of K9 Tracking Teams is to pursue escaped inmates – a scenario that has become rare in recent years – these teams are often deployed to support local law enforcement in apprehending dangerous fugitives and locating missing children and vulnerable adults.
K9 Tracking Team graduates came from 26 institutions across the state.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.