Sheriff’s Office Introduces Their 3rd Newest Four Legged…

Sheriff’s Office Introduces Their 3rd Newest Four Legged Member to the Community

This afternoon, Sheriff Robert Maciol held a press conference at the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office to welcome and introduce the third of three new K9’s to the community. The first, “Mastro”, was introduced on Tuesday at Mastrovito Hyundai, and the second, “Indi”, was introduced by Indium Corporation. Both of those K9’s were paid for with generous donations from those two respective businesses.

Today’s newest four legged member of the Sheriff’s Office was purchased with drug forfeiture monies from previous criminal cases that the Sheriff’s Office handled. When choosing a name for this third K9, the Sheriff’s Office approached the parents of Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on April 14th, to ask them if they would name this newest K9 in honor of their son. The Jensen’s are residents of the City of Rome and Michael graduated from Rome Free Academy in 2013.

At today’s event, Mr. Paul and Mrs. Michelle Jensen welcomed and introduced K9 “Jensen” to the community. Jenson is a 15 month old Dutch Shepard and is partnered with Lieutenant John Cusack. Lieutenant Cusack is a 19 year member of the Sheriff’s Office and also is a Certified Field Training Officer, Evidence Technician, Fire & Arson Investigator, General Topics Instructor, and Taser Instructor. He has been part of the Sheriff’s K9 Unit since 2015 with his now retired K9 partner, Natalie. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2021 and then to Lieutenant in 2022.

The Jensen’s were joined at today’s event by several family members and friends of Michael. Also in attendance at today’s announcement were Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile, and several members of the Syracuse Police Department.

“This is one way that we will always remember the life of Officer Jensen and the career that he was so dedicated to. Thank you to the Sheriff for doing this today”, according to Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile.

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. said “Oneida County is happy to welcome Jensen to our K-9 ranks. Naming this majestic animal after fallen Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen is a fine way to honor his legacy and bring his department, family, and the community of Rome some comfort during this difficult time.”