K-9 Named For Fallen Officer, Reis To Honor Beloved Hampton Bays Man

After Suffolk County correction officer Andrew Reister was killed in 2008 while working as a bouncer at a Southampton bar, his wife Stacey recalled, friend and coworker Deputy Sheriff Jason Korte, who is a Suffolk County K-9 handler, said that when the time came for his dog to retire, he wanted to name his next one after his friend and school chum.

On Saturday, that naming took place on the lawn outside the administration offices at the Suffolk County Jail in North Hampton.

“I loved the intimacy of it,” Ms. Reister said. “They were very conscious of our needs, and it was beautiful.”

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr., accompanied by Undersheriff Steven Kuehhas, Undersheriff Kevin Catalina, Warden Michael Franchi, Chief Deputy Michael Sharkey, and Chief of Staff Anthony Paparatto, presided over the event and the Reister family’s introduction to K-9 Reis, a 1 ½-year-old Dutch shepherd mix.

Sheriff Toulon spoke of the importance of remembering those who’ve been lost, and, noting that Mr. Reister had been president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, turned the podium over to former colleague and friend Louis Viscusi, who helms the Suffolk County Correction Officers Association.

His voice tinged with emotion, Mr. Viscusi said Mr. Reister was “a great man who would do anything to help others.” He praised Deputy Korte for choosing to honor his dear friend with the dedication.

Grateful and upbeat, Ms. Reister offered impromptu words, saying she was poised to hug K-9 Reis.

“If I know Andrew the way I think I did, he would be smiling, thinking, ‘It’s all about me,’… That was his sense of humor,” she said.

“We choose as a family to not remember how he died, but to celebrate how he lived. And I think that’s more important,” she added.

In 2008, Mr. Reister, then a 40-year-old Hampton Bays native, was working a second job as a bouncer at the Southampton Publick House when he confronted an unruly patron who was dancing on a table. The patron, Anthony Oddone, attacked Mr. Reister, and put him in a sustained chokehold. Mr. Reister died two days later. Mr. Oddone was convicted of first degree manslaughter.

The fallen correction officer’s K-9 namesake is trained for narcotics searches and patrol. K-9 Reis is also adept at searching for missing people. He’ll live with his handler, Mr. Korte, and be in service about eight years before retirement.

Hailing from the Netherlands, K-9 Reis is described by county officials as “a high-drive, strong-willed dog who exhibits a uniquely high level of courage.”

The Sheriff’s office has six K-9 teams: three for the police division and three for the correction division. The mission of the New York State certified K-9 teams is to support the daily operations of the Suffolk County sheriff’s office, as well as other law enforcement agencies upon request.

The dogs are bred and selected in Europe before they are purchased and flown to the United States by a third-party vendor. They may receive some preliminary protection dog training in Europe, but receive their police-specific training in the United States with police trainers. The dogs and their handlers spend anywhere from six to 10 weeks in Columbus, Ohio, for their basic certifications.

K-9 Reis is certified in scent detection, narcotics detection, criminal apprehension, and handler protection. K-9 Reis and his handler will conduct weekly in-service training for the length of Reis’s service to maintain New York State standards.

Sheriff’s office K-9s have an average service length of about eight years. Considering that they are usually 1 or 2 years old when entering service, they retire at the age of 9 or 10. Once the dogs are retired, they live out the remainder of their lives at home with their handlers and family.