By Kyle Coppola
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Welcomes Firearms Detection K9 “Benny”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has welcomed its newest four-legged deputy, K9 Benny, a 2-year-old Belgian Shepherd trained to detect firearms, ammunition, and spent shell casings.
Benny, who was born in Poland and purchased through Police Service Dogs, Inc. in Oxford, recently joined the agency’s School Resource Unit. He will work alongside his handler, Deputy Mally, helping to enhance safety and security throughout Lake County schools.
Sheriff’s Office officials said Benny’s specialized training will provide an additional layer of protection for students, staff, and the community.
Although Benny’s duties are serious, he has a fun-loving personality. He enjoys chasing toys, playing catch, and spending time with his handler. His name was inspired by Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from the classic baseball movie The Sandlot.
“K9 Benny will be a valuable asset in our mission to keep schools safe,” the Sheriff’s Office says in a statement. “His addition to the School Resource Unit reflects our ongoing commitment to protecting the people of Lake County.”
The agency celebrated Benny’s arrival on social media, officially welcoming him to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office family.
Photos provided by Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
