(INDIANAPOLIS) – Two new Indiana State Police Troopers will soon be patrolling the Indiana Toll Road in LaGrange and Steuben Counties.

Trooper Ryan Parent graduated Tuesday from the Indiana State Police K-9 Training School. Parent was joined by his new K-9 partner Bandit at the ceremony.

The Indiana State Police K-9 School is an annual 12-week school held in Indianapolis, with over 480 hours of instruction to include obedience, tracking, locating articles of evidence, apprehension of fighting or fleeing suspects, building searches, narcotics detection, and handler protection. K-9 handlers also receive training in K-9 legal concepts and classes on odor detection theory and tracking situations. Teams train at night and in varying conditions with scenario-based training and problem-solving situations for eight to ten hours a day.

Bandit is a German Shepard that is a year and a half old. Parent is a 4 year veteran of the Indiana State Police.