BALTIMORE, MD – There are many great ones that hailed from Baltimore over the years. Babe Ruth, David Hasselhoff, Michael Phelps, Frank Zappa, Montel Williams, and the great baller Reggie Lewis. But none made as much of an impact on the city as pioneering K9 sniffer Einstein.
Einstein was the city’s oldest living K9 officer until his retirement earlier this month.
“It is with great sadness that the K9 Unit announces the passing of K9 Einstein. K9 Einstein passed with his handler and longtime friend, Officer S. Reiter at his side,” the Baltimore County Police Department said.
“Einstein was our oldest bomb dog until his retirement in June and he helped usher in a new era in bomb detection work within the K9 Unit. Prior to Einstein, the bomb/gun dog program mimicked the narcotics K9 training program. In 2013 and under the leadership of Officer Reiter, the bomb/gun dog program began to change/expand,” the department said after his passing. “The training took on a more realistic approach and the number of training aids used went from a few to more than 20.”
Under that leadership, the department said training venues became much more realistic and bomb dogs went from small room searches to large outdoor venues.
Officer Reiter was a driving force behind this change, from which the entire department now benefits. Einstein wasn’t just a co-worker, he was also part of Officer Reiter’s family.
“In fact, the realism that we now incorporate in bomb dog training is a direct result of Reiter’s vision and subsequent follow through,” the department said. “Please keep OFC Reiter and his family in your thoughts during this difficult time.”