Long Island community gets its first K-9 cop in 30 years after recent gang takedown

He’s top dog in Hempstead.

The Long Island village introduced Hunter as its police department’s first canine unit in 30 years — just as area cops deal with a series of gang and drug busts.

“He’s one of the best partners I’ve ever had,” Hempstead officer Jake Piser, the German shepard’s handler on the newly formed K-9 unit, told The Post.

“We have a good time all day…and it’s handler protection, officer safety,” added the policeman, who is jovial that he gets to bring the four-legged crime fighter home nightly.

Piser, a dog lover who has owned nearly a dozen in his life, was first in line applying to be the department’s first officer on the paw patrol since the 1990s.

The brass recognized him for both his love for animals and work ethic, said Hempstead Police Chief Richard Holland.

“He just became the perfect candidate,” said the chief.

In the Spring, Piser and Hempstead village mayor Waylyn Hobbs, who has a German shepherd of his own, began recruiting several candidates — but Hunter had them rolling over.

“He walked into that room and it was like an initial connection,” said Piser.

“It was great. He showed interest in me, and I felt comfortable with him. He did all the things that he was supposed to do very rapidly.”

Hobbs opted to reinvest in a K-9 unit as “another tool” to help keep residents safe.

“We’re excited,” he said of the dog that’s a hit with school kids and fellow officers alike.

“We are looking to develop even more community relations and, of course, help to solve some crimes.”

Got that dawg in him

Cuteness aside, Hunter has already proven to be an asset on the force after about two months of training.

Hunter, whose specialty is firearms and explosive materials within those weapons, sniffed out a nine-millimeter handgun left in a car after the suspect fled on foot last week.

“It was amazing just to see him work in the atmosphere…he actually did very well,” added Piser, who has been with Hempstead PD for five years.

“We’re getting criminals off the street faster.”

The good boy is also talented at sniffing out people while on patrol, according to the mayor.

Adding Hunter into the mix couldn’t have come at a better time, either, as the Nassau Police Department just dealt out a massive gang takedown throughout the county.

The Post even witnessed a Trinitaros gang member cuffed on cocaine charges in Hempstead last week on a ride-along.

“Obviously, gang members are known to carry weapons, so yes, it’s beneficial,” said Chief Holland, who added that Hempstead PD would have to wait for Nassau to send a K-9 unit in the past.

“If there was no unit available, we just didn’t have that opportunity,” he added, lauding the new “in-house” asset.

And, Hunter is poised to keep getting better and better at the helm with Officer Piser as the two have become excellent at reading each other’s emotions.

“That bond that we built just makes us a better team,” Piser said of his pup, whom he taught hand signals and vocal commands.

“I have to rely on him — he has to rely on me, and it makes that connection so much better.”