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An Ottawa police officer and his K9 unit pal are in Paris working on “pre-sweeps” of Olympic venues to make sure they’re safe for athletes and spectators.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Ottawa Police Service said last week that Const. David Guy and K9 Beci would be in Paris to assist with explosive detection during the Olympic Summer Games.
On Wednesday, police provided an update on the pair via social media, saying they had recovered from jet lag and had already been “hard at work.”
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“Beci is having the time of his life abroad,” the post said. “Beci and Cst. Guy visited Chateau Versailles as part of their assignment, which has been a highlight for both of them!”
Olympic events are taking place across 35 venues. Most are in and around Paris, including the Eiffel Tower Stadium, where beach volleyball will be played, the Château de Versailles, where equestrian and modern pentathlon events will take place, and Paris city hall, where the marathons will start.
Some events are scheduled for other French cities such as Lyon and Marseille, though surfing is set for Tahiti.
Guy and Beci, police said, are being joined in pre-sweep assignments of Olympic venues by 29 other K9 teams from countries including Norway, Sweden, Estonia, and Cyprus. There is also another Canadian team from Calgary.
The Ottawa Police Service says Guy has been an officer for 23 years and has been with the K9 unit since 2018.
He has two working dogs, including a patrol dog named Qido who tracks human scent, firearms, ammunition and several illegal drugs, and Beci, a single-purpose explosive-detection dog.
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Robin Percival, a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said France requested the assistance of Canadian police organizations to support its Olympic and Paralympic security plans. She said the RCMP had co-ordinated the request and reached out to partners to seek out patrol officers and police dogs.
“The request was sent to approximately 30 policing agencies throughout Canada,” Percival said. “The RCMP identified 20 police officers who deployed to Paris.”
The officers, Percival said, came from seven police agencies across Canada, including the Sûreté du Québec, Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil, Ville de Mirabel police, Calgary Police Service, West Vancouver Police and Ottawa Police Service.
The RCMP also sent staff to work on on-site coordination, looking after the Canadian police contingent during the Olympic Games, and to “augment the capacity of the RCMP’s Liaison Office in Paris.”
Percival said the RCMP and its government partners had provided support at previous Games in “different capacities.”
Guy and Beci are the only members of the Ottawa Police Service at the 2024 Games. They are expected to return to Canada on July 29.
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