K-9 Simo ends his watch and honors his namesake, slain NYPD Det. Brian P. Simonsen

K-9 Simo, a bomb-sniffing dog and a veteran of 6½ years with the NYPD, got the end of watch walkout honor his namesake, NYPD Det. Brian P. Simonsen, did not live to receive.

Dozens of officers and civilians, including Simonsen’s widow, Leanne, gathered Wednesday at an NYPD facility on Randall’s Island to honor Simo and three other working dogs who were retiring after years of service with the Critical Response Command, one of the department’s first lines of defense against a terrorist attack. The ceremony featured speeches, plaques and — a unit tradition — a shower of gently tossed tennis balls for each dog to chomp.

Simonsen, a South Jamesport native from Calverton and a 19-year NYPD veteran, was killed in a friendly fire shooting after he and other officers responded to the February 2019 robbery of a Queens cellphone store.

The black Dutch shepherd named for Simonsen moved briskly and with purpose through the room where the ceremony was held, alongside his handler and partner, K-9 Officer Daniel Cea. Simo ignored the crowd of well-wishers and went straight for a trace of C-4 explosive material event organizers had hidden next to a lectern at the center of the room. He briefly went bonkers when the tennis balls were tossed but regained his poise and stood close by Cea’s side.

Cea, who did not know Simonsen but has lived with Simo for the entirety of their partnership and will keep him in retirement, said his emotions were mixed.

"I’m happy for him. He deserves it, but at the same time I’m losing my partner. I was blessed to have him." Cea said.

Cea said Simo had detected explosive residue at Grand Central Station and gunpowder on a man at a Veterans Day parade, though the man turned out to be a law enforcement officer with no ill intent. But in recent months, Simo has dealt with a cancer scare and back trouble, he said.

Cea said he planned to continue working as a handler with a new K-9 partner but the move would be hard.

"I probably got my standards too high," he said. "It’s like my first true love."

It will be hard for Simo, too, he said. The few times Cea left Simo at home during their partnership, Simo passed the time at a window, waiting for him to return. Cea said his wife joked, " ‘I don’t know who’s going to have the harder transition.’ It’s going to be rough."

The NYPD has named police dogs for fallen officers since at least the 1980s and has used dogs since the 1970s, said Lt. William Esposito, commanding officer of the Critical Response Command’s K-9 unit. The department uses roughly 100 dogs for work that includes apprehending violent perpetrators, detecting narcotics, electronics and explosives, Esposito said, though "if you’re seeing a dog on New York City streets, nine times out of 10 ... it’s most likely a CRC detection dog." CRC fields about 26 dogs, he said.

The unit uses dogs to detect explosives because they do a better job than any machine, Esposito said. In laboratory tests, dogs like Simo have identified substances in concentrations as low as one part per trillion — the equivalent, according to one published study, of detecting one drop of liquid in 20 Olympic-sized pools.

But mere talent isn’t enough, said K-9 Officer Ryan Marrero, one of Simo’s trainers.

"We look for a very particular type of dog — a dog that’s eager to work, has a high drive."

A CRC dog must learn to ignore the city’s many odors — food, urine, unwashed people, for example — and focus on the smell of explosives. The dog gets a toy after making a find. Simo’s work ethic, Marrero said, was "amazing."

When Simo was done with his star turn, Cea took off the shepherd's work collar and gave it to Leanne Simonsen. She patted the dog and hugged the man.

Simo, she said, "carried on Brian’s legacy like a champ. We are sad to see him go but just want to see him live his best life now and enjoy retirement."