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West Windsor honors police officers and mourns retired K‑9 Hodge at Sept. 8 council meeting
Summary
At its Sept. 8 meeting, the West Windsor Township Council heard a presentation from Chief Garafolo recognizing multiple officers and civilian staff for investigations, life‑saving responses and long service, and marked the recent loss of retired narcotics K‑9 Hodge.
West Windsor Township Council on Sept. 8 recognized a string of police awards and memorialized a recently deceased retired narcotics dog, K‑9 Hodge, during a ceremonial segment of the council meeting. Chief Garafolo led the presentation and listed case outcomes, individual acts of bravery and longtime service that prompted the honors. The council meeting was held at the West Windsor Township Municipal Building.
The chief opened the remarks on a somber note about the department’s retired narcotics canine, saying, “He was more than just a dog with a badge.” Chief Garafolo told the council that Sergeant Frank Zicca was forced to euthanize Hodge after a sudden decline; Hodge had joined the department in April 2019 and retired Jan. 1, 2025. The chief credited the dog with helping locate large drug seizures — including, he said, a kilo of cocaine and a later connection to fentanyl and cocaine distribution investigations — and recounted, “From start to finish, Hodge located 87 bricks of heroin across multiple cases.”
Why this matters: the awards program emphasized both community policing and specialized capabilities the department…
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