RememberSchiff 3667 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) The statue honors fallen K-9s that served in Monmouth County law enforcement agencies. (Courtesy of the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office) but the rest of story... A K9 memorial statue on Monmouth County Police Academy grounds is the Eagle Scout project of Scout Devin Motani of BSA Troop 101 in Morganville, N.J.. Devin is also a member of the Marlboro Police Department Police Explorers, where he is group captain. Motani is the son of a police officer in Howell Township and has always had strong ties to law enforcement. He's particularly interested in the work of police dogs and their handlers, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office. The monument features a life-size sculpture of a K-9 police dog, a granite base, a paved area and space for where future fallen K-9 police dogs may be honored. The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office has lost one police dog in the line of duty, K-9 Solo (nicknamed Rambo), who was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend an individual in 1998. During his police career, Solo was credited with 16 apprehensions and locating 19 missing persons A gravestone for Solo was placed outside the police academy in 2018 and is near where Devin’s monument to K-9 officers was constructed. Devin said his project was influenced by the tribute to Solo when he brought his idea to Sheriff Shaun Golden. “(Devin) presented a vision to me in my office,” Sheriff Shaun Golden said. “He had pictures and an outline of how he was going to overcome funding (challenges), placement and coordination of the companies involved.” "The project was met with some challenges. Devin had to raise a large sum of money and overcome quite a few obstacles during the pandemic, but he was determined to make it work and complete this incredible endeavor," Golden said. With the support of members of the community, Motani was able to raise $22,575 online. The project had a total value of $30,015. In addition, there were 322 hours of service distributed among 28 individuals. According to Devin, the monument cost $30,015 to complete. He said the 17,000-pound granite base was transported to Freehold Township from a quarry in Georgia and placed on a concrete foundation constructed by Monmouth County Department of Public Works employees. Linda Torch, a sculptor with Young Fine Arts Studio in Utah, was selected by Devin to create the impressive life-size sculpture of a police dog that sits atop the monument. “Today, we sit here in front of these Boy Scouts and more importantly, Devin,” Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners Director Thomas Arnone said. “Devin, I look at you and it puts a very bright feeling in my heart to know we are in a good future in Monmouth County. To take this effort that you just did here, knowing the importance of what Monmouth County is about and what we need, you are a true hero,” Arnone said. More details and photos at sources: https://centraljersey.com/2021/08/05/devin-motani/ https://wobm.com/monmouth-county-teen-dedicates-eagle-scout-project-to-fallen-k-9s-law-enforcement-community/ https://patch.com/new-jersey/howell/fallen-monmouth-k-9s-get-statue-thanks-local-boy-scout Edited August 5, 2021 by RememberSchiff 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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