Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) officer, Trooper Chris Garcia, has spent the last two years of his life enforcing the law and protecting the community with his K9, Nala. When not on duty, the two can be seen going out for a walk, playing at the park, or just relaxing at home with the rest of the family.
The trooper and his trained Belgian Malinois were known to the department and friends alike as inseparable. In fact, Garcia often referred to Nala as “Daddy’s girl."
Their bond was unmatched.
But now the department, NHP, wants to permanently separate Nala and Trooper Garcia over circumstances that do not add up. The department has already temporarily separated the two, essentially tearing the entire family apart.
And it seems foul play may be afoot.
A Written Reprimand and… Coincidence?
After Trooper Garcia reported an incident where Nala nipped at a child (more on that below), he was formally issued a written reprimand for “negligence” over the incident. These reprimands often stay in an officer’s file for months, years, or sometimes permanently.
After speaking with several colleagues, Garcia decided to formally appeal the written reprimand to protect his reputation as a stellar officer. He felt the incident wasn’t disciplinary in nature, but rather something that occurred that was no one’s fault.
Trooper Garcia showed incredible integrity for reporting the nipping incident to begin with. He could have easily kept it to himself, and no one would have known. Instead, he was punished.
This case took its first major twist after Garcia submitted his appeal. It was shortly after the appeal that Garcia was informed the department decided to take Nala out of service, and out of his hands.
This decision was made an entire month after the incident, but shortly after the appeal for the reprimand was submitted.
Coincidence?
The Nipping Incident
About eight weeks ago, Trooper Garcia was at home with Nala and his family on a rather routine day. As one of the household children went to pet Nala, the K9 became excited and nipped at the young boy, barely leaving a mark.
Dogs may nip at people out of aggression, fear, guarding, or playfulness. After two years together and never having an incident like this in the past or with anyone in the home, in all likelihood, it was related to playfulness.
As the responsible and highly respected officer Trooper Garcia is known for, he decided to follow policy to a tee and make the notification of the nip incident to his department.
They all went on with their lives, and about a week later Garcia was assured by his superiors, a Lieutenant and Captain (the department’s Canine Coordinator), that they were not looking to take Nala from him.
But without notice or any warning signs, the department reversed its decision about a month later and ordered him to surrender Nala. The move came as a surprise as there were not any interviews or an investigation completed as typically occurs in a situation like this.
An Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) major advised Garcia that they were taking Nala out of service and placing her up for adoption.
It is not uncommon for departments or agencies to take K9s out of service and place them up for adoption. However, it is common for them to allow their handlers to adopt the K9. The dog is often, after all, practically a family member for most handlers by then.
Another Twist, Nala’s Relocation
According to someone close to the situation, Nala was taken and transferred to Desired K9 Training, a dog training organization that is neither formally nor officially connected to the NHP. Worse yet, it was reported that Desired K9 only trains K9s as protection animals, not narcotics or other police-related functions. The choice of location was highly unusual.
Trooper Garcia eventually learned of her new location and quickly reached out. He made contact and after a friendly phone call with Slade Weber of Desired K9 Training, Weber happily agreed to reunite Nala with her family.
But another twist came only after a few hours. Weber of Desired K9 reached out to Garcia and went back on his word. Garcia was told the deal was off. Weber stated that it was a matter of liability, despite Garcia offering to sign a waiver of liability and pay any price requested.
This was another twist and Garcia didn’t understand why. Lengthy online research of Desired K9 Training was conducted and found that, despite the training organization having no official partnership with NHP, there was a connection made between the organization and a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) of the NHP.
Was this a case of a buddy-buddy arrangement between Weber and the LTC? Did the supervisor who wrote the written reprimand feel slighted after the appeal was submitted? Did that supervisor and the LTC know each other? Did NHP leadership expect Garcia to simply go away?
No one knows… yet. And as the saying goes “where there’s smoke, there’s fire."
There is certainly something unusual going on here.
Nips are not uncommon with police K9s, and many are retrained and reassigned back into rotation. Additionally, it is common to allow the handler to adopt their longtime K9 companion as it is the moral thing to do.
But not this time, unfortunately.
Editor's note: LET contacted NHP for comment on the situation and received the following response: "In a recent case, a canine who remains a state-funded member of the Nevada Department of Public Safety was reassigned from her handler for cause. That canine is now in a secure and nurturing setting. The canine’s abilities and official certification are being re-evaluated. The best interest of the canine is always the Department’s priority.
"An internal administrative review of this matter is currently ongoing. At this juncture, we are unable to provide more details."
A Final Twist
Countless supporters are working to help Garcia get Nala back where she belongs. A social media campaign was launched on January 21st that quickly spread among the community, garnering additional support for the duo.
It was reported that shortly after that, NHP regained custody of Nala. However, none of the department press releases acknowledged they ever signed Nala over to Desired K9 to begin with, despite Weber confirming they had.
Strange indeed.
Help Trooper Garcia Reunite with Nala
Trooper Garcia is committed to getting Nala back. And that is where she belongs.
And you can help in several ways.
First, sign the petition by clicking HERE, and help bring more awareness to Trooper Garcia and Nala.
Send cards and letters to: NHP Headquarters 555 Wright Way Carson City, NV 89711.
Contact The Director of Nevada Department of Public Safety, George Togliatti, by sending an email to: gtogliatti@dps.state.nv.us
And follow the official Facebook page for up-to-date information.
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran with over 25 years of combined law enforcement and military experience. He now owns and operates the apparel company www.buyherostuff.com
The trooper and his trained Belgian Malinois were known to the department and friends alike as inseparable. In fact, Garcia often referred to Nala as “Daddy’s girl."
Their bond was unmatched.
But now the department, NHP, wants to permanently separate Nala and Trooper Garcia over circumstances that do not add up. The department has already temporarily separated the two, essentially tearing the entire family apart.
And it seems foul play may be afoot.
A Written Reprimand and… Coincidence?
After Trooper Garcia reported an incident where Nala nipped at a child (more on that below), he was formally issued a written reprimand for “negligence” over the incident. These reprimands often stay in an officer’s file for months, years, or sometimes permanently.
After speaking with several colleagues, Garcia decided to formally appeal the written reprimand to protect his reputation as a stellar officer. He felt the incident wasn’t disciplinary in nature, but rather something that occurred that was no one’s fault.
Trooper Garcia showed incredible integrity for reporting the nipping incident to begin with. He could have easily kept it to himself, and no one would have known. Instead, he was punished.
This case took its first major twist after Garcia submitted his appeal. It was shortly after the appeal that Garcia was informed the department decided to take Nala out of service, and out of his hands.
This decision was made an entire month after the incident, but shortly after the appeal for the reprimand was submitted.
Coincidence?
The Nipping Incident
About eight weeks ago, Trooper Garcia was at home with Nala and his family on a rather routine day. As one of the household children went to pet Nala, the K9 became excited and nipped at the young boy, barely leaving a mark.
Dogs may nip at people out of aggression, fear, guarding, or playfulness. After two years together and never having an incident like this in the past or with anyone in the home, in all likelihood, it was related to playfulness.
As the responsible and highly respected officer Trooper Garcia is known for, he decided to follow policy to a tee and make the notification of the nip incident to his department.
They all went on with their lives, and about a week later Garcia was assured by his superiors, a Lieutenant and Captain (the department’s Canine Coordinator), that they were not looking to take Nala from him.
But without notice or any warning signs, the department reversed its decision about a month later and ordered him to surrender Nala. The move came as a surprise as there were not any interviews or an investigation completed as typically occurs in a situation like this.
An Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) major advised Garcia that they were taking Nala out of service and placing her up for adoption.
It is not uncommon for departments or agencies to take K9s out of service and place them up for adoption. However, it is common for them to allow their handlers to adopt the K9. The dog is often, after all, practically a family member for most handlers by then.
Another Twist, Nala’s Relocation
According to someone close to the situation, Nala was taken and transferred to Desired K9 Training, a dog training organization that is neither formally nor officially connected to the NHP. Worse yet, it was reported that Desired K9 only trains K9s as protection animals, not narcotics or other police-related functions. The choice of location was highly unusual.
Trooper Garcia eventually learned of her new location and quickly reached out. He made contact and after a friendly phone call with Slade Weber of Desired K9 Training, Weber happily agreed to reunite Nala with her family.
But another twist came only after a few hours. Weber of Desired K9 reached out to Garcia and went back on his word. Garcia was told the deal was off. Weber stated that it was a matter of liability, despite Garcia offering to sign a waiver of liability and pay any price requested.
This was another twist and Garcia didn’t understand why. Lengthy online research of Desired K9 Training was conducted and found that, despite the training organization having no official partnership with NHP, there was a connection made between the organization and a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) of the NHP.
Was this a case of a buddy-buddy arrangement between Weber and the LTC? Did the supervisor who wrote the written reprimand feel slighted after the appeal was submitted? Did that supervisor and the LTC know each other? Did NHP leadership expect Garcia to simply go away?
No one knows… yet. And as the saying goes “where there’s smoke, there’s fire."
There is certainly something unusual going on here.
Nips are not uncommon with police K9s, and many are retrained and reassigned back into rotation. Additionally, it is common to allow the handler to adopt their longtime K9 companion as it is the moral thing to do.
But not this time, unfortunately.
Editor's note: LET contacted NHP for comment on the situation and received the following response: "In a recent case, a canine who remains a state-funded member of the Nevada Department of Public Safety was reassigned from her handler for cause. That canine is now in a secure and nurturing setting. The canine’s abilities and official certification are being re-evaluated. The best interest of the canine is always the Department’s priority.
"An internal administrative review of this matter is currently ongoing. At this juncture, we are unable to provide more details."
A Final Twist
Countless supporters are working to help Garcia get Nala back where she belongs. A social media campaign was launched on January 21st that quickly spread among the community, garnering additional support for the duo.
It was reported that shortly after that, NHP regained custody of Nala. However, none of the department press releases acknowledged they ever signed Nala over to Desired K9 to begin with, despite Weber confirming they had.
Strange indeed.
Help Trooper Garcia Reunite with Nala
Trooper Garcia is committed to getting Nala back. And that is where she belongs.
And you can help in several ways.
First, sign the petition by clicking HERE, and help bring more awareness to Trooper Garcia and Nala.
Send cards and letters to: NHP Headquarters 555 Wright Way Carson City, NV 89711.
Contact The Director of Nevada Department of Public Safety, George Togliatti, by sending an email to: gtogliatti@dps.state.nv.us
And follow the official Facebook page for up-to-date information.
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran with over 25 years of combined law enforcement and military experience. He now owns and operates the apparel company www.buyherostuff.com
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2024-02-29T05:24+0530 | Comment by: harri
does someone in the department or their family member want Nala but not willing to pay $25,000 for a fully trained dog?