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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has recently welcomed a feathered new addition to its ranks: Sergeant Hank, a Canadian goose.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, the goose has taken up residence at the Marina del Rey Station, bringing a unique form of support to the agency and boosting the morale of deputies.
Sergeant Hank has been hanging around the station since June. His ongoing presence and his khaki-colored plumage matching the deputies’ uniforms have earned him his unofficial title as a “reserve sheriff of the flying kind.”
The LASD’s Tim Gannon highlighted Hank’s free-spirited nature in a video posted on social media.
“He’s free to go, he flies all over the place. He hangs out. He provides a great deal of friendly support to the deputies here. We’re blessed to have him hanging out with us,” Gannon said.
Despite efforts by deputies to involve California fish and wildlife officials when Hank first appeared, the feathered officer refused to abandon his post.
Gannon noted that Hank spends his off-duty hours swimming in the marina and socializing with his avian buddies, including flocks of seagulls and other feathered friends.
The LASD’s unconventional recruit has since become a media darling, willingly posing for passersby and capturing the hearts of deputies at the Marina del Rey Station.
“Our deputies love ole Hank,” the department wrote on Facebook, noting that it appeared “Mother Nature has assigned” the bird to the station.
Officials say that Hank’s presence has taken on added significance given the recent challenges faced by the LASD. The department was recently shaken by a tragic series of suicides, with four current or active deputies taking their own lives in unrelated incidents over a 24-hour period.
Although the LASD has therapy dogs available to support its personnel, clearly Sergeant Hank is also doing his part to lift the spirits of those doing a difficult job at a difficult time.
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