Attorney General Coleman Welcomes New Counter Exploitation K9 Officer

Will help law enforcements agencies all over the commonwealth

(Click the photo or HERE to watch)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 15, 2024) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced a four-legged officer is joining the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Charity, a highly trained yellow lab, will help one of Kentucky’s premier law enforcement agencies protect Kentucky kids from exploitation.

“As a new K9 officer, Charity will be a force multiplier as we collaborate with law enforcement partners to keep families safe,” said Attorney General Coleman. “Charity is part of an elite class of law enforcement K9s, and we couldn’t be more excited for her to wear the badge and get to work.”

Charity is trained to sniff out and detect easily hidden devices that could contain child sex abuse material. Those devices could include cell phones, flash drives, micro-SD cards and more. With her handler, DCI Detective Shelby Guffey, Charity will support local law enforcement investigating cases involving child exploitation and other major crimes.

“Law enforcement needs to stay on the cutting edge of keeping kids safe from exploitation,” said Jeremy Murrell, Deputy Commissioner for Counter Exploitation in DCI. “Highly trained K9s like Charity are invaluable in an investigation and will help get predators off our streets and behind bars.”

Kentuckians are encouraged follow Charity’s work on her new Instagram page, OfficerCharity_K9.

“She’s so talented and hardworking,” said Detective Shelby Guffey, Charity’s handler. “She’s going to make a big difference in our Commonwealth.”

The new K9 officer is Attorney General Coleman’s latest effort to protect Kentucky kids. His team partnered with Representative Stephanie Dietz (R-Edgewood), Chairman Chris McDaniel (R-Ryland Heights) and Kenton County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders to unanimously pass legislation giving Kentucky law enforcement innovative tools to crack down on some of the most heinous crimes perpetrated against children, including AI-generated child sex abuse material and sickening life-like child sex dolls.