Campton Hills honors K‑9 Coda as the department marks retirement and community program funding

Campton Hills — The village board issued a proclamation recognizing K‑9 Officer Coda and the village's K‑9 program, and police officials described the program's community role and funding.

During the proclamation, Village President Wennicki read a statement saying K‑9 Officer Coda served the village since 2019 and participated in demonstrations, community events and mutual‑aid responses. “K‑9 officer Coda has taken part in over 100 demonstrations during his career,” the proclamation text said.

Police Chief Levan (identified in meeting remarks as the K‑9 handler) described the program's operations and community support. “We have been very fortunate. We've worked hard doing this, but Coda has done over 400 calls since he's been out there,” Chief Levan said. He told the board the K‑9 program answered requests for tracking, narcotics detection, building and article searches, handler protection and assistance to other agencies; Chief Levan said the unit assisted about 40 outside agencies during its career.

Chief Levan said the K‑9 unit was established with community funding because the village initially could not fully fund it. He told the board the program’s total cost to run “through its entirety” was about $130,000, funded by residents, businesses and donations.

The proclamation noted that Coda retired from police work in late 2024 but would remain available for community events. Chief Levan said the dog is undergoing unspecified medical issues being evaluated by the department and thanked the community for its support.

Why it matters: the K‑9 program has been used for both public safety operations (searches, narcotics detection, mutual‑aid) and community engagement (school visits and demonstrations); the village credited residents and businesses for sustaining the program financially.

There was no formal board vote associated with the proclamation; the board recessed after the recognition.