It is with great sadness that we announce the death of retired Police Dog Diesel after a short illness.

Diesel protected and served communities across Essex for five years until his retirement in April 2023.

During that time he helped detain suspects, search for missing people, and found key evidence including weapons.

Even in his final weeks of service his work helped ensure three men were sentenced for carrying out a series of violent robberies in Basildon.

In 2021 Diesel and his handler, Sergeant Jamie Edwards, were recognised at the National Service Dog Bravery and Achievement Awards for bravery.

They were carrying out searches for the suspects in two knife point robberies in Benfleet in December 2018.

When Sgt Edwards saw a third robbery in progress, he and PD Diesel jumped out of their vehicle and confronted them. One of the suspects ran off and was detained by PD Diesel.

His handler, Sergeant Jamie Edwards said: “I wanted to be a Dog handler since I was a child and Diesel was exactly how I imagined a police dog would be.

“Fearless and inquisitive, he kept us both safe as we spent 5 years patrolling Essex together. “On retirement he switched from first responder to our family dog and loved running around in the garden and playing with our children. On our daily walks he still kept a keen eye on what was going on and barked at a few suspicious characters.
“At the end, he feel asleep for the final time cuddled by us all, and he leaves huge paws to fill and many happy memories.”

This article originally appeared on essexpolicemedia.co.uk and was republished with permission.