Connecticut
Connecticut Mourning Loss Of Respected State Police Dog Drago
TOLLAND, CT — Connecticut Friday was mourning the loss of celebrated and respected state police dog Drago.
Drago worked with veteran trooper and handler Kyle Kaelberer while stationed out of Troop C in Tolland County. The black shepherd had a distinctive floppy ear, which made him very photogenic and popular with children at promotional events.
State police said he died on July 4 from “medical complications.” He had battled stomach ailments in the past.
Kaelberer and Drago were graduates of the Connecticut State Police 201st Patrol K-9 Class, as well as the 219th Narcotics Detection K-9 Class. They also served together as “highly respected” members of the State Police Tactical Unit, state police said.
“The Connecticut State Police regrets to announce the passing of K-9 Drago. During his career, Drago successfully located countless wanted suspects, missing persons, as well as a large quantity of illicit narcotics,” state police said. “K-9 Drago was a beloved member of Troop C, and made an immeasurable impact on the safety of the citizens of Tolland County, the State of Connecticut, and the Connecticut State Police as a whole.”
Drago certainly had his successes.
For example, just this past January, he and Kaelberer nabbed a suspect in a murder “intent” case out of Massachusetts. The Webster Police Department in Massachusetts contacted Connecticut State Police about a vehicle they had attempted to stop in their town that had eventually crashed at exit 53 on Interstate 395 in the town of Thompson in Connecticut.
The driver fled on foot after the crash, and Drago and Kaelberer were called in to assist. They began a track in a thickly wooded area and Drago located the suspect, who was taken into custody after a brief struggle, state police said. It was later determined that the suspect had not only engaged the Webster Police in a pursuit, but in a stolen vehicle.
The suspect also had a nationwide extraditable warrant for assault with intent to murder and numerous firearm charges out of Worcester, MA, police said.
In October 2023, a 50-year-old Iowa man who eluded authorities for about 12 hours after crashing a car on Interstate 84 in Tolland was eventually corralled by Drago.
The man was in a stolen 2010 Infinity EX35, traveling west on I-84, about a half mile shy of Exit 68. He suddenly lost control of the vehicle and slammed into the center median, according to a crash report. The car was bearing registration plates out of North Carolina, state police said.
The man fled the vehicle on foot after the crash and crossed the eastbound lanes of I-84 in the process, according to a crash report. State police then set up a perimeter in the area and police dog Drago was called in to track him. Drago located and detained him in a wooded area.
In August 2022, a driver told Kaelberer that “your dog is wrong,” after Drago altered him to the presence of drugs at a traffic stop on I-84 in Tolland.
Drago, of course, was not wrong and troopers located 14 grams of fentanyl and 1.5 grams of crack cocaine in a subsequent search, according to an arrest report.
In February 2021, Troop C received 911 calls about people attempting to steal vehicles in the area of Kozley Road and Williams Way in Tolland. The second caller had interrupted the burglary in his garage and the would-be thief pulled out a gun as he approached the group, according to an arrest report.
The man was able to get a description of the getaway car before the men fled the property, which wound up being a stolen Acura RDX out of Newington, according to an arrest report.
Kaelberer saw the Acura traveling south on Old Stafford Road in Tolland, and, as he and Drago turned around to follow the vehicle, which was traveling at a high rate of speed through the intersection of Old Stafford and Dunn Hill roads and then south onto Tolland Green, the car slammed head-on into another state police cruiser, which was headed north with its lights activated, according to a state police report.
Five people exited the Acura and then fled on foot, state police said. Kaelberer and Drago, chased the 19-year-old driver on foot, and he was apprehended by Drago and was arrested at the scene.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) — Aaliyah Edwards came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Portland Fire, 90-87, during Camp Day on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Thousands of kids were in attendance to watch the Sun hold on to a fourth-quarter lead as the Fire attempted to rally. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and saw its lead cut to one in the final period.
Brittney Griner added 20 points for the Sun, who ended their three-game homestand with a victory. Olivia Nelson-Ododa went 8-for-8 from the foul line en route to 16 points and Leila Lacan chipped in 14.
Carla Leite led the Fire with 18 points.
The Sun visit Phoenix on Friday for the first of two games with the Mercury.
Florida’s tallest flag pole raises new Stars and Stripes on Independence Day
Florida’s tallest free-standing American flagpole now stands 250 feet tall at Bernice Braden Park in Cape Coral
You might have seen Connecticut’s state flag in government buildings and schools and wondered what the meaning was behind its design.
Adopted by the General Assembly in 1897, the Flag of Connecticut features a navy blue background with a white shield. Three grapevines with purple grapes are on the shield and oak leaves and acorns can be found on the shield’s edge.
Below the shield is a banner which features the phrase “Qui Transtulit Sustinet” written in Latin. According to ConnecticutHistory.org, that phrase translates to “He who transplanted still sustains,” which honors the colonists who moved to the state from England.
Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the three grapevines have two competing interpretations: they represent either the three oldest settlements in the state (Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor) or the three colonies that merged to form Connecticut (Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony and New Haven Colony).
Why is the Connecticut flag blue?
According to ConnecticutHistory.org, the blue comes from Connecticut’s Civil War military flags. During the Civil War, Connecticut regiments had flags featuring blue backgrounds. ConnecticutHistory.org reports that when the legislature adopted an official flag in 1897, they kept the color that military tradition had already established.
Origins of Connecticut’s state flag
Per ConnecticutHistory.org, Connecticut did not have an official state flag until 1897. The site reports that in 1895, the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Groton pushed for an official flag to display in their new meeting room.
Governor Owen Vincent Coffin introduced a bill on May 29, 1895, which ConnecticutHistory.org says caused the legislature to subsequently form a committee. After several designs were submitted, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted the flag in 1897.
Connecticut’s coat of arms, which includes the shield, grapevines and banner featured on the state flag, was not formally standardized until 1931, according to USASymbol.com. The website also says color standards for the flag came in 1956, when the Secretary of the State’s office developed uniform specifications.
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