OCEAN CITY, MD - The Ocean City Police Department announced the loss of their beloved K9 "Smoke".
The Ocean City Police Department says K9 Smoke passed away on Thursday, June 5th. Smoke served the community for seven years before retiring in April 2025. He was a dual-purpose patrol and narcotics detection canine.
Smoke was born and trained in the Netherlands and joined the Ocean City Police Department in March 2018 after competing a handler course in Pennsylvania. His handler was PFC Erika Rhode.
OCPD Chief Raymond Austin says, "Throughout his career, Smoke proved time and again that he was an exceptional asset to public safety. Our community embraced him, our officers relied on him, and he will be deeply missed."
During Smoke's career in Ocean City, he was deployed more than 370 times, including:
278 vehicle scans
49 building searches
21 tactical deployments
27 arrests
8 weapons seizures
$5,390 in seized U.S. currency