Feb 8, 2021
The Super Bowl is one of the most anticipated events for people across the US, and especially this year for Greater Clevelanders to see that the Browns were *this close* to making it!
GCRTA Transit Police sent two K-9 officers and their handlers to Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida in February. So why would Transit Police be invited to the Super Bowl? Why do they even need to go outside of Greater Cleveland?
Each year, the TSA National Explosives Detection K-9 Team sends a request to agencies with dogs that are funded through the program for their assistance in large scale national events. This could include the Super Bowl, the Olympics, Presidential Inaugurations, RNC/DNC, etc. They hope to get up to 100 dogs and their handlers to work each event in order to have it fully covered. These dogs and officers are used for pre-event and game day sweeps of the venue and for an added level of security. Dogs and handlers from 35 agencies were recruited from all over the country to assist with Super Bowl LV.
GCRTA Transit Police have sent our TSA-funded explosives detection K-9s to three other Super Bowls, beginning as early as 2017. We are proud of our teams who represent us on a national scale at these events. This year, Officer Jaram and his K-9 Blecky, and Officer Cannavino and his K-9 Zora kept spectators, athletes and staff of Super Bowl LV safe. We thank them for their continued hard work!
